Empress & Concubine
by tinkerheck
Summary: Please consult my profile to read the remaining chapters of Empress & Concubine, thank you!
1. Chapter 1

**Square Enix owns all of these toys. I spent money to learn about them, I earn no money in borrowing them.**

++++++++ _notes ++++++++_

• **RATED M. This fic is meant for adult eyes only.**

• This fic will contain Reffie, Yuffentine, and (briefly) Renyuffincent. (Yes, I probably made that last one up. Go ahead. Say it. _You know you want to. _It rolls off the tongue real sweet-like.)

• I made every attempt to remain faithful to FFVII canon as close as possible. However, I am certainly _not_ an expert on the FFVII universe, and there will likely be times when I veer from canon due to ignorance or the advancement of the plot. Therefore, so as not to ruffle feathers, I shall now consider this fic an AU. Do not bother criticizing me for getting canon wrong, you will be ignored.

• _Consider yourself warned:_ There will be bad language. There will be violence & bloodshed. There will be squicky medical happenings. There will be character death. There will be lemony events.

• For the most part, _long sentences in italics are thoughts _(human), and **sentences in bold** are for the Galian Beast.

•

**Empress & Concubine**

**Chapter One**

I Love You, Goodbye.

•

_Now, Chaos._

Pain, indescribable even for the great and long-suffering Vincent Valentine, ripped through both mind and body as the pure form of Chaos, _soul wrought of terra corrupt,_ was finally allowed to unfurl itself completely. The demon exploded out of his human host and rushed to meet Omega full on.

Less than a second before the agonized gunslinger felt the shockwave of their impact slam into his body, he called upon the Protomateria to do its job, sending both forces back into the Planet where they belonged and ending this miserable clusterfuck.

His job done, the blast threw him violently away from the epicenter of the massive burst where the two energies had collided. Vincent fully assumed he was going to die at that moment. He silently thanked Lucretia and Shelke for returning to him the one weapon he'd needed to succeed.

All of Gaia, _saved_, once again.

Vincent now lay on the cold ground, body slightly broken and unable to move. He stared up at the thick white mist, all that remained of their conflict, as the Protomateria put things to rights and the explosion dissipated into utter silence like so much steam.

_This is rather anticlimactic_, he thought bitterly. _There weren't even flames_.

He knew he'd been hurled some distance from where the members of Avalanche and the others were watching. They wouldn't hear his calls, so he did not bother yelling out. And by that point, the idea of crying for help held no appeal.

He felt at ease, despite his physical wounds. Chaos and the Protomateria were suddenly absent from his very existence, leaving him strangely calm, and feeling… _different_.

What had become of his other inhabitants, he did not know.

Bright stars came back into view as the pitch black sky cleared itself, and were it not for the piles of destroyed technology that lay all around him, it was as though Omega and Chaos had never come to blows.

•

_Dear Vinnie,_

_It's come to this: The Greatest Ninja Ever has resorted to pen & paper. Marlene's girlie stationary with unicorns and moogles, no less. Gawd!_

_I hope you are all right. I refuse to believe otherwise. We still haven't heard from you! I know you don't like it when I call you on your phone. :) :) But you aren't even responding to Shelke's text. C'mon Vincent. Enough with the Emo._

_Okay, so if you get this on or after Tuesday the 23rd (in the month of April, not May, just in case you are being EMO INCARNATE), I had to leave on Monday. _

_Wanna stay and wait for you. Can't. Wutai stuff. Important._

_I just wanted to tell you in person that I have totally fallen in love with your tragic, beautiful, sullen self. _

_Yeah. So, I'm gonna be unladylike now, and ask you some stuff in this note. _

_Do you want to go out with me? Or fool around? Or maybe both? Both would be better. Time is short, for reasons I can't get into now. So, get back to me on this._

_Nice ass-kicking of the cosmic forces, BTW. You SO rule._

_Love (srsly), _

_Yuffie_

•

"Tifa?"

The barmaid poked her head up from behind the counter.

"Yes?"

"What does, when written, s, r, s, l, y mean?"

She smiled. "Ah… Yuffie mentioned she was leaving you a note on the table next to your bed. That's a textism for the word seriously."

Vincent hid a very small smile behind the collar of his cloak.

"She really wanted to wait for you, Vincent. But her father got word to her last Monday about something, I don't know what or why, and she left within the hour. You only missed her by a few days."

"Hn."

"Did she say why she had to go in her note? She didn't even tell _me_," Tifa muttered, sounding letdown.

There was a pause, then Vincent simply said, "No."

Tifa was one of the few members of Avalanche that understood Vincent's paragraph-impersonating mono-syllabic discussions, and there was no way in hell he was indulging her with any more information about that letter. That particular _no_ meant 'what was in her note is meant for my eyes only'. Being the wise woman she was, Tifa dropped it.

Vincent decided to leave 7th Heaven that day. It had been good for him, assuring himself that everyone involved was intact after such a monumental event like AlmostOmega ("Yuffie's word," Cloud had muttered). Even though he was slightly worried about Yuffie's quick departure, and slightly more unhinged by her advances, at least Vincent knew that she, too, was safe.

But after only a few days rest, Reeve called and asked him to stop by the WRO and "would you be a sport and let us run some tests?"

Blood. Needles. Scientists.

_Experiments…_

Vincent decided that it was time to quietly get back on the road. He'd had enough of cold lab tables, and _remembering_ cold lab tables.

Packing his things to leave that morning, he had folded Yuffie's letter carefully and slipped it into the safety of the inside pocket on his leather shirt.

•

Of all the creatures that could have stayed within him after Chaos was released, Vincent Valentine was almost glad that the Galian Beast had been the one_._

The Deepground conflict had ended nearly four years ago. When Chaos was released, an opening for the others had presented itself. It was short-lived, but Hellmasker jumped at the chance as soon as he realized it was before him. The ski-masked misanthrope had been in such a hurry to leave that he practically burned Chaos' ass on the way out. Death Gigas, with his mind nearly as closed as his eyes, had been a little slow on the uptake but once he felt Hellmasker's absence he was not far behind in taking his own freedom.

Vincent had no idea where the two of them went, or what form they were now in, or if they even _were_ at all. All he knew is that they were gone, and for good.

But the Galian Beast … he had _chosen_ to stay.

His reason was simple: when Vincent died, Galian would die along with him. Most of his physical enhancements were still intact, but Vincent himself was no longer immortal. That had left with Chaos.

It turned out that Galian was tired, and only at Vincent's demise would he move on to whatever secrets the universe was holding for him. Until that time, he was content to reside as a tenant in a familiar human body, in a world that would not have understood or accepted him were he free to do the wandering with his own 'demonic' feet.

Chaos had been the strongest of the four, and he had maintained a tight hold over the others when Vincent had been his host. Vincent, in turn, had been under the impression that Chaos felt the need to control the others to keep him, as their host, safe. Turns out that wasn't the case at all. Chaos, ripped from his proper environment and confined to Vincent's, had huge control issues. Allowing Hellmasker, Death Gigas and Galian the opportunity to put their two cents in would have taken that control away from him.

Past transformations had proven that the Galian Beast was not physically capable of human speech. His race did have their own language, and spoken aloud it was akin to fingernails on a blackboard to a human's ears. But with the freedom to speak his _mind_ returned to Galian, Vincent soon learned that the creature understood human languages, and through thought alone he was able to express himself quite clearly. Poetically, even.

The first thing Galian had done after things settled down was to formally request that he no longer be referred to, _incorrectly_, as a 'demon'. He was not normally so filled with rage and violence, despite his outward appearance. It was Chaos who had stirred the muck with Galian, enraging him before each transformation to the point where Vincent came to think of him as a wild beast; a fantastic defense mechanism, but nothing more.

While Vincent didn't know much about what sort of entity Galian was, he learned Galian was definitely a _he_. Instead of succumbing to the bitterness of his own long and tragic life, Galian was a sympathetic, sentient being with a good sense of humor. Stuck with human foibles, he had learned to appreciate pleasant scenery and good books.

Contained within, and relaxed now without the iron fist of Chaos on his neck, Galian had also proven himself to be a good conversationalist. He didn't hold back on agreeing or disagreeing with his host, and he never played the spoilt brat attention-monger like Chaos had. He was very observant not only of their surroundings, but of Vincent's reactions to them.

Galian had a sarcastic sense of humor as well. It was much more defined than Vincent's, and nearly as good as Yuffie Kisaragi's. The beast was using it on him right then, giving the gunslinger a very hard time, which is why Vincent was _almost_ glad he was still around.

"I don't know why, but she stopped sending text messages and leaving voice mail on my phone all of a sudden. I was told just yesterday by one of my other comrades-"

**Tifa Lockhart? The one with the large mammary glands and the gentle heart? **

Vincent sighed. In his head, he muttered, _Yes, Tifa. May I continue?_

**By all means. **

"Just yesterday, Tifa told me Yuffie will be at the gathering. So she has not gone missing, there is no cause for alarm. But I do want to know why she stopped communicating all of a sudden."

**Did you respond to her missive?**

_No. I never do, _he smirked, adding, _because we're at war._

Galian fell quiet.

"Well?"

He heard the creature sigh; a long, suffering noise.

"Galian?"

**I would have – what do you call it – texted? I would have responded. **

Now Vincent was silent. Traversing over a patch of jagged rocks, he jumped a small stream to gain passage though a large grassy meadow, continuing his brooding, solitary march to the 7th Heaven bar.

What was he supposed to do? He didn't want to encourage any feelings in Yuffie that he simply could not reciprocate, and if he started a cell phone conversation with her, the flighty girl might think he was interested, well, _that way,_ and then all sorts of wrong would rock his peaceful world.

_I would have lost the battle. Not to mention my peace and quiet. _

**Protecting your peace and quiet. Right. And that's why you still carry around, on your person I might add, that note that she left for you right after Deepground.**

Leaping easily over an ancient stone barrier, he answered in his head.

_She had to return to Wutai before I made it back to 7th Heaven. We just missed each other, and I did not get the chance to discuss its contents with her. _

**Nor have you ever, though you've had plenty of opportunities since I might add.**

Vincent pursed his lips. Galian had a low tolerance for denial.

_I keep her note with me for my own reasons. _

**Yes, never mind that those reasons might be the _very same ones_ she had for leaving it for you in the first place–**

_Careful, Galian._

**Of what? What will you do? Transform? **Galian laughed in Vincent's mind, tickling his brain with a rich, throaty sound. **We both know you cannot do a thing to shut me up. Valentine… Princess Yuffie reminds you, in person or otherwise, once on your birthday and once on Wutai New Year's that the offer in that letter still stands. That's a delicious proposition twice a year. Your pride has you expecting it now, like a man on a pedestal! But you turn her down, even though you want her. This denial is grotesque. **

_You can shut up any time, really –_

**Would you like to hear the horror story about how long I have been alone since my family was killed? There's a moral in it about living in isolation that you might find interesting.**

Vincent curled his lip. Galian was probably revealing more to him than he'd ever intended to with that one.

**Yes, I _am_ feeling generous today. I can see you and Miss Kisaragi falling in love and having massive amounts of fantastic sex if you'd only just get over yourself.**

_She's a child!_

**No she isn't. The fact that I catch you staring at her – especially certain parts of her – is proof of that. I'm right about how you feel.**

"Whether she is attractive or not is _not_ the point," he yelled out loud.

**Agreed. The point is that _you_ find her attractive.**

_It wouldn't be appropriate. And the rest of Avalanche would castrate me._

**No, they wouldn't. The big one – the one with the gun for an arm – he's too caught up in his daughter's coming of age issues to notice anything else. The one that plays with puppets doesn't notice things like that. Speaking of castration, _he's_ the eunuch… The big red cat creature can already smell your desire, but he isn't one to meddle in human love affairs. The one that uses crass language and smokes might be a problem… he's actually quite protective of the Princess. But you could take him. Now, that Tifa girl, and her beau with the bad haircut – they already _know_ you like her.**

Vincent groaned.

**They have _eyes,_ Valentine.**

"Oh, _Titan's teeth_. Please just stop talking. Please?"

**No. So you plan on confronting Yuffie and demanding an answer as to why she _dare _stop communicating with you, even though you have never had the decency to respond. How very gentlemanly of you. Are you also going to let the Princess know that you'd begun entertaining thoughts of getting into her tight little shorts during the Deepground event? _Before_ she left you that note?**

_Shut **up**, Galian. _

•

"So, I told just told Marlene that she can go into town with him to the arcade, but only to the arcade, and _only _if she is home by eight. That's what I told her and that's how it is."

"Yeah, okay. She's the most precocious twelve-year-old I have ever seen, Barret. Good luck holding her to that one, big guy," Cid drawled, earning snickers from nearly everyone else at the table.

"Never mind that, smoke stack. What're you planning to do next, Spikey?"

Barret's question hung in the air as they all watched Cloud glance at Tifa, who glanced back. She looked down quickly, a blush creeping up her face.

"Ah, well. You see," Cloud started. He looked over at Tifa, who gave him a small nod. "I'll be sticking around here for a good while. Tifa's gone and made me a dad."

The resulting congratulatory noises coming from each member of Avalanche sitting at the huge table in 7th Heaven's back kitchen was nearly deafening. Well, except for Vincent, who, while quiet, was definitely smiling behind that high red collar.

Yuffie grinned at Tifa, who picked up her orange juice again. "What about you, Yuffie?" she asked before taking a sip.

"Yeah ya brat, you ain't said word one as of yet as to what you been up to," Cid blustered, ruffling her long hair, which she'd decided to let grow for two years.

"Quit that, old man," she muttered, smacking his hand away and smoothing her hair down.

In the years since Deepground and Omega, Avalanche had been free from calls to 'save the Planet'. A time of relative peace had allowed them to gather together, at least once a year, to catch each other up and stay in touch. Their lives were far from perfect – there were still minor terrorist factions to contend with, as well as monsters and materia and power sources and poverty –

In other words, they still had work.

Reeve and the WRO had become a major force in cleaning up the Planet, and most of Avalanche were in his employ in one form or another. Shelke had become a permanent fixture at the WRO, first as a means of getting her mako doses. But she had proven a valuable member of Reeve's more elite team in the company's computer lab, so she took him up on his job offer, and got free room and board at WRO HQ on top of it.

Cid offered up the _Shera_ as transport for the WRO, "hauling Catboy's shit", as he so eloquently put it.

Barret was still mining, but more often than not whatever he uncovered from Gaia was more valuable to either Reeve or Rufus Shinra as research material rather than energy alternatives, so he too made a decent living.

In the end it had turned out that Rufus Shinra had been the hidden benefactor behind the WRO's takedown of Deepground. _Recompense_, he'd called it, but whatever it was it had amounted to good works for Rufus Shinra, so no one was complaining. It gave him a chance to re-build Gaia and put his father's company on a better path. And, at the very least, the Turks still had work, too.

Deepground was the beginning of a beautiful, if not very odd, relationship. Shinra and the WRO had shook hands and melded efforts. Not corporations, but ambitions, projects. Missions.

Which meant that Reeve and Rufus were getting chummy, and members of Avalanche occasionally found themselves teamed up with Turks. It was weird_._

Vincent Valentine checked up on Shelke every so often, and took the occasional job from Reeve as well, but for the most part he stuck to himself. If it had not been for Yuffie's annoying phone messages, his contact with everyone else would have been less than minimal.

Yuffie Kisaragi… Well, her story was about to change.

"I got things going on, as a matter of fact, smoke house."

She smiled at Cid strangely. She wasn't acting like herself at this gathering, and everyone had noticed it.

"Like what?" Cloud's clipped voice cut through the tension.

Yuffie smiled at his question and looked down, suddenly shy. Tifa frowned. Something was off with her girlfriend.

"Yuffie, you haven't left any voicemail or text messages on my cell phone in over nine weeks. What's going on?"

Vincent Valentine had finally chimed into the conversation. He had been considering not showing up for this year's get together at all until Yuffie's attentions had suddenly ceased. As he'd been discussing with Galian on the way there, he'd had every intention of cornering the ninja and demanding an explanation.

Over the years, Yuffie's habit of calling Vincent's cell phone and leaving funny, useless messages had become a standing joke amongst the members of Avalanche. The joke carried itself further, as Vincent's response to Yuffie's messages was always absolutely nothing. There was a private little war going on between the most outspoken member and the least talkative member of their group.

Whichever one of them stopped their routine first could be declared the loser, so when Yuffie appeared to suddenly stop communicating, Vincent tried to tell himself that it had been his victory. That lasted for about two minutes until his imagination took over, and Yuffie's cell phone silence began to disturb him greatly, even though he would never admit that publically.

A small, perfectly monotone voice cut in. "Does it have anything to do with the Emperor's failing health?"

Shelke. No couth that one. Yuffie had honestly grown to like the girl, but she frowned at her just then.

"How do you…?"

"I'm sorry for prying. Please believe me it was not intentional. While surfing the WRO network, I intercepted a scrambled email message sent to your cell phone from Wutai about two months ago. I was worried you were being sent a virus. By the time I finished decoding it, I realized just how personal it was, so I elected to ignore it."

Yuffie looked down. The others fell silent and gave her the time she needed to tell them her story.

"It's all right, Shelke. No harm done. And thanks for keepin' a lid on it all this time." Shelke offered her a small smile. Yuffie sighed heavily and continued. "Okay, here it is. Godo's sick, yeah. Not dying just yet, but it's inevitable. It's his liver or kidneys or something. I can't really bear to know the details. I went home right after I got that message, and I was… kinda preoccupied, so… That's why no one's heard from me for a while." She looked down, lost in thought.

Vincent noted that she did not make that last statement personal, in any way, to him.

"Oh, Yuffie. I'm so sorry."

She shook her head quickly at her friend. "Not now, Tifa. Later. We can cry later, okay? Godo made me promise not to cry. Not too much, anyway. And last week he demanded I come to our gathering, 'cause he knows it means a lot to me. But I'm headed right back home again after this. I need to prepare for…" She fell silent for a bit. Nanaki moved to stand next to her chair and rubbed his side against her thigh comfortingly. She brushed her hand down his back, then weaved her small fingers into his mane, silently telling him _stay by me_.

"I'm… Gonna be in charge, guys. As _Empress_."

Eyes bugged out and gasps abounded.

"Yer only a kid! A _teenager_. They can't put all that on you!" Cid blustered. As usual, when things looked their worst, he was always the first one to make sure Yuffie was okay.

Yuffie smiled at the pilot. She really was going to miss how he U-turned from annoyed to protective with her so quickly. "The council isn't doing anything to me, Cid. Not _yet_, anyway. This is a decision that Godo an' me made together awhile back, when he first started getting sick. And incidentally," she said, pursing her lips at the pilot, "I turned twenty-two last November. On my _birthday_, when you gave me a freaking stuffed pink chocobo, though I had asked you for a bottle of whiskey. Remember now?"

Barret gasped. "Twenty-two? No. Really? _No. _Ain't you still like seventeen or something?"

Cloud blinked at him before stating matter-of-factly, "I pity Marlene."

"Daddy never intended for me to take the reigns _this_ soon, but…" she winced, looking back up at Tifa and the others. It was Vincent she did not make eye contact with, and it did not escape him. "There are no cousins. I'm the only living blood royal. If I don't step up to the plate and take the throne, the Kisaragi line will come to an end. As much as I don't wanna be Empress, I don't wanna disappoint my ancestors, either. Not to mention Leviathan. As far as the timing goes…" She drifted off for a moment, frowning. Taking a deep breath, she continued. "Godo's guidance will be invaluable to me. It's sorta the best thing for me now, if I jump in the deep end while he still has time to teach me how to swim."

Everyone was staring at her, speechless. She laughed.

"Looks like play time has finally ended for the greatest ninja ever, guys."

"_Play time?"_ Cloud asked, incredulous. "You were one of the Planet's saviors, Yuffie."

She laughed nervously. "Well, I just mean… You guys have always been on me for my immature behavior. My hyper personality, you know? Like I could never stop playin' around. Truth is, I was just trying to pack as much living into my personal life as I could… cuz I knew it was doomed to end one day. _And_… I guess that day is finally here. At summer's end, Godo will formally announce his abdication to me, and after that, I'll be crowned _Empress Kisaragi_, Ruler of all Wutai." Her voice was chirpy, though it was tinged with sadness, too. "Of course, you are all invited to the coronation. Black tie affair, by the way."

The silence could be cut with a knife, until Cid finally broke it.

"Holy fucking _shit_."

•

Yuffie balanced precariously on the top beam of the railing surrounding the back porch of the 7th Heaven bar. She had been all the way across it and back again, in the pitch black of night, just trying to see how many passes she could stack up before she lost her balance and would need to leap off and save her dignity as a ninja with a graceful landing.

_Five… not bad. Not great, but–OH!_

She corrected herself, but just barely. Not a sound was heard. If Cloud knew what she was doing, he'd fry her ass but good. She laughed, a quiet little huff.

_He'd probably have a coronary, now that I'm weeks away from running my own empire. I can just hear him now – 'For fuck's sake, Kisaragi! What the hell are trying to do to me? Get me beheaded?'_

That made her laugh out loud, which made her lose her balance.

"Oh, Cloud," she snickered, arms flailing, "I couldn't _do_ that to your unborn kid-wo… woah! _WOAH!"_

Still laughing, she managed just enough momentum to fling herself upwards into a mid-air somersault, intending to land with at least a little bit of grace onto the porch.

A shockwave registered itself through her body as her feet never made contact with wood slats. Instead, she found herself held securely, maybe even tightly, in the arms of one Vincent Valentine. Gasping, her hands went to his chest as she stared into his eyes.

"Wha… Oh! Um. _Hi_, Vincent. Heh," she shrugged, embarrassed at being caught.

He glared at her a moment - just a tiny expression, but that was all Vincent ever needed to make most people run the other way. Most people, but not Yuffie. She had his body language completely down, much to his dismay.

He sighed, closing his eyes and releasing the breath he had been holding for what seemed like the last ten minutes.

"Yeesh, Vinnie! Were the hell'd you _come_ from? Thin air?" she asked while he set her down gently onto her own legs. He didn't let go of her waist until he was sure she was steady. Unnecessary, but that was Vincent. Yuffie's stomach clenched a little at the feel of his hand while it slipped past her hip.

"I was out here, standing in the shadows, before you even started your circus routine. _Yuffie_, must you always be so reckless?"

"I only have a few weeks left of reckless left, Vinnie. Do not judge." Her voice was tart. She straightened her top and pulled up her socks. Smiling a brilliant smile at him, she teased, "Must _you_ always hide in the shadows?"

"Speaking of not judging things… I like the shadows. They don't judge me."

That got her attention. She straightened and looked him squarely in the eyes. "Since when have I ever judged you, Vincent Valentine?"

He leaned his elbows against the porch rail and looked out at the alley below. "You called me a Vam–"

"Oh, gawd! Let it _go,_ already! I only did that _once._ You popped out of a coffin, remember?" She laughed, standing next to him, careful to keep a good foot of personal space between them.

"You've called me it since that time."

"I most certainly have _not_. The name just stuck, that's all. And now everyone else uses it, not me. Just because I used it first people assume I say it all the time. Think about it. I _don't."_

Vincent smiled that imperceptible little smile, the one she knew so well. She was right. She hadn't used the term once since that day. Not even when texting.

"See. I'm right… right?" Yuffie gloated in the dark.

"What were you saying about Cloud and Tifa's baby just now?"

"You mean before my spectacular dismount?"

He swore he could _hear_ her face looking smug.

"Yes, the one you failed to execute."

"Only because you got in the way."

"Of you breaking your neck."

"We'll never know _now_, will we?"

"Yuffie."

"All right! I was imagining how Cloud woulda reacted if he'd caught me using his porch as a balance beam."

"Badly. He would have reacted badly. And rightly so. You are more precious to the Planet now than ever."

"Ah, yes," she grinned, although the smile did not reach her eyes. "Now that I am to be a _world leader_, my life suddenly has value. It's okay to think good of my bratty ass, right?" Cynicism dripped from her words, and Vincent could practically feel the temperature drop around her, despite the late July heat.

"I have no wish to get into a heated discussion with you."

**How about a heated pool?**

Vincent closed his eyes and gripped the railing a bit tighter, trying to ignore Galian. The wood creaked slightly under the claw's pressure.

"Is the puppy chiming in again?" Yuffie's voice was instantly soft and sympathetic, and he looked down to find she had placed her hand on his gauntlet. She'd always been the one that was never afraid of him transforming, or even the beasts he had transformed into. Somehow, that had never made it easier for him to treat her as though she were just a comrade.

A non-committal _'Hn'_ was all he offered.

"You know, Vinnie… If Galian has an opinion about me, I'd love to hear–"

"_Absolutely not."_

**Bastard.**

"Whatever," she griped, removing her hand and looking away from him and up at the stars.

The silence stretched out between them until Galian couldn't take it any longer.

**Say something. Ask her about her father. About Wutai. **

Vincent did not answer him, nor did he speak aloud.

**All right, **the creature sighed, clearly annoyed with his host. **Ask her about the damn text messages then.**

"I…"

Yuffie looked at Vincent, raising her eyebrows, waiting for him to continue. Nothing. She finally spoke.

"You what? Come on, Vincent," she laughed. "I only got about a month left here."

"I was worried when your texting stopped so abruptly."

"Worried. Really? I figured you'd be thrilled that you won the war."

"At first I enjoyed it."

"Figured," she drawled. "Good to know."

"That didn't last very long, though. I started imagining all sorts of trouble you may have gotten yourself into." He looked at her pointedly, his voice dropping to nearly a whisper. "It was not pleasant for me."

She nodded. For Vincent, those six little words were a tome's worth of dialogue when it came to verbally revealing that he saw her as a bit more than a friend. However, Deepground had been a long time ago, and she was now convinced that was as much as she was ever going to get from him; verbally, emotionally and otherwise.

"Well… this time it was Godo that got himself into trouble."

"Yes, and you have my sympathies. Perhaps if he were to let Reeve conduct–"

"Vincent. About the offer."

He sighed deeply, looking down. "Yuffie…"

_Time to move on. Here goes. _She bit her lip.

Vincent tried to tell her, yet again, that is was impossible, improbable, and bad idea all around. "It's not my birthday yet, but my answer is still n–"

"No. That's right. No. As in, _no,_ it does _not_ still stand." She spoke firmly. "I'm rescinding the invitation, as of this moment."

Vincent stared at her mouth for a moment, completely at a loss for words.

**Well. Didn't expect that, did we?**

Yuffie blinked. "Are you all right, Vinnie? You look like I just stole your favorite gun."

**Oh ho! I believe Miss Kisaragi just made a very accurate blow to your ego. It is a very large target, making aiming for it unnecessary, but her method was clever, and the gun thing just _smacks_ of sexual imagery –**

_SHUT THE HELL UP GALIAN._

She shook her head, clearly seeing that an argument was taking place in his head. Sighing, she continued.

"I know it's a big cliché, but it's not you, it's me, _really_. I'm afraid that ship has sailed."

"Yuffie… you are young girl with your whole life in front of you."

"Vincent. I'm a young _woman_ who is about to be crowned Empress to her nation. The only thing left for us would be a tawdry one-nighter, and I'm afraid that was not what I had in mind. Not with you, anyway."

'**_Not with you?'_ Hah. The little vixen.**

He frowned.

"Look, hear me out. I figure I owe you at least an explanation after all this time. Godo will not last much longer, bless his heart. He can only protect me for so long. After he is gone I'll be utterly alone in any face-off I get into with the council, except for the members that still support my line, and there ain't too many of _them_ left. They expect me to marry and produce an heir. If I can't accomplish these things on my own, they will find a husband for me. And don't go thinking I can get out of it, either. We are talking about _centuries_ of court tradition. I may be the greatest ninja ever_,_ but even I won't be able to fight the council on this one. You heard what I said at dinner. I been packing as much living into my life as I could because it's all about to be taken away from me. Bottom line is… I love you. I'm _in_ love with you," she said with a sincerity that even he couldn't deny.

"I was hoping you might wanna see, just _see,_ if you could feel that way too. I coulda sworn there were a few indicators now and then that you were at least game for tryin' it out."

He eyed her a long time before answering.

"And then what, Yuffie? Suppose I expose my heart to you. We fall in love, I have some pretense of a normal life, finally… then I just give it up to the demands of Wutai?"

She scoffed. "_No_, you idiot. You _marry_ me before they sink their claws in! You look Wutai, and that's good enough. I dunno if you are or not, but we can get that faked easy enough on paper to make you legally eligible." She looked at him, but he didn't respond. "The point is that they cannot force an arranged marriage on me if I'm already _in_ a legally binding one. We stay together and live in the palace, happily ever after, making baby ninja gunslingers."

**Smart girl.**

"_That_ was the idea."

"And what if I don't want to have children? What then?"

"Then we get 'em from somewhere else."

He smiled, tiny and hidden, but she saw it all the same. "I meant, what if I don't want to _raise_ children?"

"Then we end it."

He paused at the finality in her voice. It was an unnerving tone for Yuffie, and they – _he_ had been hearing a good deal of that from her tonight. His next words were very carefully weighed before speaking them aloud.

"Apologies. That wasn't an honest argument, because I do actually want to have children someday. But all I know how to do is fight and destroy things."

"So? You learn how to do more stuff," she said, waving a hand around like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Yuffie… What if I don't want to live in Wutai Palace, married to a royal, doing royal things?"

"Then we end it." Again with the finality.

"You wouldn't consider living elsewhere with your husband?"

"Are you asking me to, Vincent?"

**I think she just tricked you, Valentine. No, wait… you did that to yourself.**

"No. I was not making an offer."

"Didn't think so." She bit the inside of her lip. "Vincent, I'm gonna be Empress, whether I like the idea or not. Whether _you_ do or not. If I get together with someone, and then he decides he just can't live in a palace, then we end it."

He shook his head and looked away from her, ending the fantasized role-playing for the night.

"The whole idea… this idea that we 'try each other out'… It still sounds forced, Yuffie. Not like a real romance."

"We hadtime for a real romance. That's what I've been offering your emo-ass for four years!" Her voice kicked up a notch in speed and volume, indicating anger was not far behind. "But that's done now. I'm sorry that Godo's sickness and my royal responsibilities are so fucking inconvenient to your romantic aesthetic."

"That's not what I–"

"_No_ – you know what? This is good. I'm glad we're finally discussing the mutant chocobo in the room. I'm officially sorry I _ever_ left you that note. You know what else? I promise to leave you be. It's your phone, after all, and I have no right to call it. No more stupid texting, no more _forced_ offers – even though I _swear_ that's not what I've been doing all this time. You're off the hook, pal."

"Hold on. That is not how I want things to be between us."

"Okay then, how _do _you want them to be Vincent?"

She could almost see the gears in his mind turning, trying to find the right angle, the one that would give him the least amount of grief. It was a strategy of his that she knew well. And the chances were slim that he'd actually speak up before a week's time.

"Well, in any case," she sighed, looking away. "I ain't gonna have time to be your pen-pal anymore. Wutai still needs to re-build, and the WRO and Shinra have already offered their help. I just have to get my country over this feeling that they can't accept help from outsiders, especially Rufus," she said, sneering.

**Right now. Reach out. Just touch her _hand_, that's all I'm asking. **

Vincent clenched his teeth and kept himself very still.

Yuffie couldn't hide the disappointed look on her face, not even if Cloud would have busted in just then and given her all of his mastered materia, free and clear.

"I hope you'll come to my coronation, Vincent," she said gently. After a long pause, Yuffie turned away from him and walked to the bar's back entrance, letting the screen door slap against the warped doorframe as her lithe body disappeared into the kitchen.

Galian muttered an obscenity in his native language, alien and unpronounceable, reminding Vincent that the voice within wasn't a native of the Planet.

**You're a moron**_**,**_** Valentine. Goodnight.**

He didn't know how long he stood on the porch alone in the dark, not even Galian for company, before he was sure Yuffie was safe in her room for the night and the rest of Avalanche had retired as well. He re-entered the kitchen, shouldered his pack, went back out onto the porch and leapt over the railing. Landing quietly in the alley, Vincent turned South, grateful for the punishment of a long, solitary journey back to Niebelheim.

From her window on the third floor, Yuffie Kisaragi watched as a dark figure moved purposefully away from the bar, her room, _her_.

•

"Cut it."

"Okay, a little trim for her highness, to go home in style, yes?" Tifa smiled affectionately.

"No, Tifa. Cut. It." Yuffie grabbed the scissors from the vanity and held them out to Tifa over her shoulder, eyeing her friend in the mirror.

Tifa frowned, taking the scissors from the younger woman and setting them back down on the vanity carefully, picking up a hairbrush instead. "You want your short hair cut back again? But Yuffie, this took you forever to grow out. And it looks beautiful on you!" Tifa ran her hands through the long thick locks, all one length and just slightly wavy from the heat and perspiration. She noted with a modicum of envy that it was now all the way down to the young woman's narrow hips.

"Every girl I see watching you at the bar is jealous of it!" She giggled. "Including _me!"_

Ever since Yuffie had let her hair grow out, Tifa had been braiding it and playing with it when the ninja came to stay at 7th Heaven, long into the night, the two of them engaging in girl talk. The young woman tried to tamp down how much she was going to miss Tifa's ministrations; the simple act of having her hair played with had reminded Yuffie of her mother, long gone.

She closed her eyes for a second, willing the memories away. _Stay focused, Kisaragi._

"No; not my old hair cut, Teef."

Tifa breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, okay. I get it. Just more than a trim. How about a couple inches past your shoul–"

"No. I mean _shorter_ than my old hair cut. Cut it off. _Pixie style."_

Tifa eyed her in the mirror for a long time. Yuffie's voice was not her own.

Then again, maybe it was. _Maybe she has always had this in her._

"Are you sure? I thought you were expected to be the epitome of feminine beauty as Empress. Long, flowing, shiny, thick hair is usually associated with that. And you already have it."

Yuffie leveled her with a lopsided, bitter grin in the mirror.

Tifa stopped and leaned in, speaking fast. "That came out wrong, sorry, you're the epitome of feminine beauty either way, I was just–"

"Teef!" Yuffie laughed. "I wasn't thinking that at all. And don't you _dare_ start guarding yourself or what you say around me. I ain't the Empress with you, _ever._ You got it?"

"Sorry, you're right. I promise. I'd hate that too, probably."

Yuffie nodded, happy that at least _someone_ she knew was not going to be walking on eggshells around her after that damn crown was on her head.

"In with the old, out with the new, right? I plan on letting the council know right off the bat that I will not be manipulated easily. The boots and shorts can be changed in an instant. But my hair will be like a big ole splinter in their eyes, and at pixie length it will be stuck there a looooong time. It's as good an opening move as anything else."

Tifa nodded, brushing through Yuffie's mane slowly, both of them savoring the moment.

"Kinda like a chess game, right?" Tifa brushed through the ends with vigor to clear the knots. She held the thick hair en masse with her other hand, just above the brush strokes, so that her actions did not yank at Yuffie's scalp.

_Just like Mama used to do._

"Yes. Life at court is exactly like chess, only there is kunai and poison, too. Godo will hate that I have lost the length, but he will see the strategy in my decision and he will probably adore me for it."

"Yuffie, your father already adores you," Tifa said, smiling slyly.

"I know…" the ninja countered lightly. Her eyes shined in the mirror.

"Speaking of adoring… I noticed _Mr. Valentine_ left last night without saying goodbye."

There was a pause, then, "Yup." Smile gone, Yuffie had popped her 'p' like it was bubble gum.

Tifa shook her head, a disgusted look covering her face.

"So… this change may have a little to do with him as well?"

"Yup."

_Coward,_ Tifa thought bitterly. She gave her friend a sympathetic look in the mirror. Instead of wallowing in misery, Yuffie was intent on embracing her new life. That was more than she could say for Vincent.

"Pixie-style, ne? I think that'd look totally hot on you. You have the ears for it. And it'd put the focus on your eyes, where it should be. Especially now that you are a _world leader,_" she teased. "Plus, most of the baby fat has left your face… A pixie cut only compliments good cheekbones, and yours really came out in the last year or so."

Yuffie smirked. "No one but you has noticed that yet, trust me."

"Maybe in _our _group. They're just used to thinking of you as a little girl. It's frustrating for you, I get that, but I also see guys at the bar looking you over all the time now."

"Yeah?" Yuffie blushed a little.

"That crazy Turk with the red hair – Reno? He almost walked into a wall checking you out the last time the two of you were in the bar at the same time. Of course, the Garrison belt you were sporting as a skirt may have had something to do with that."

Yuffie smiled. Seeing some happiness returning to her friend's face, Tifa conveniently left out the fact that Vincent had also been watching her skirt that night, as well as keeping a close eye on Reno's whereabouts.

"I can use my fingers as a guide for the height… 'bout a half-inch, okay? _That_ will last you a long time. This won't really be hard, now that I think about it. But I'll have to put it in a ponytail first and cut it off at the base of your neck, otherwise we'll have a major mess to clean up.

"Do me a favor and braid it first before you cut it off."

"Ah - you're gonna keep it? That's sweet. Marlene did that, too."

"Oh, I'm not _that_ sentimental. I'm not gonna keep it. I'm gonna cram it in a box and have Strife Delivery Services toss it over the front gate of Shinra Mansion."

"Yuffie…" Tifa scolded, but her heart was clearly not in it. She secured a hair band at the base of Yuffie's neck. "That's mean."

Yuffie relaxed a bit while Tifa separated her ponytail into three even pieces and started braiding it, nice and tight, just the way the ninja liked it.

"Yes, it is. So… you think I shouldn't do it?"

Tifa fell silent for a moment, concentrating on the braid. She pursed her lips as she worked.

Cocking an eyebrow, the mother-to-be finally responded.

"I'll make the shipping label for you."

•

The haircut turned out to be the perfect idea. When Yuffie strolled down for breakfast the next morning, Cid threw a wolf whistle her way, and Cloud actually _noticed_.

Yuffie said her goodbyes to her friends, tearing up a bit in the process. A short time after she left, Cloud found Tifa upstairs alone, sitting on their bed with a box in her hands.

He kneeled on the floor in front of her, glancing at the box, then at her worried face.

"What is it, Tifa?"

"Yuffie's hair is in here," she sniffed, fingering the edges of the box. "She wanted you to throw it at Vincent."

Cloud couldn't stop himself from laughing.

"I think…" She sniffed again. "I think we should hang onto it for now. Maybe there will come a time when giving it to him will serve a better purpose… right?" Cloud saw the beginnings of a good cry coming on.

He also knew that Tifa was talking about Yuffie and Vincent's future, and not about making Vincent feel like a responsible jerk right now.

"Well… You never know, sweetie. You never know."

•

_tbc_

•

++++++++ _notes ++++++++_

Points to anyone who knows the artist and title of the song Tifa was channeling during the haircut.

If you read it, please review it, thanks. :3


	2. Chapter 2

**Square Enix owns all of these toys. I spent money to learn about them, I earn no money in borrowing them.**

**RATED M. This fic is meant for adult eyes only.**

Please see chapter one for additional notes.

•

**Empress & Concubine**

**Chapter Two**

Midnight Snack

•

Reno – Turk (title), Martial Artist (nonspecific), and Sex Machine (alleged) – was _bored_.

He agreed to come to this club only because the mission was nearly over and Elena was begging to go out. Since Tseng was still in charge and could authorize their expenditures, all she had to do was flash those sweet brown puppy eyes at him and _bam_, a night out at the Gold Saucer. Or at least, the outskirts of it.

Normally, he and Rude would've gone on their own to find a nice pub where they could play a game or two of pool over beers. But Rude was dead, killed, gone for nearly two years now. He bit back the thought.

Reno didn't relish the idea of the loud teenager music and the dancing, not to mention the fru-fru pansy drinks and the shallow crowd. But spending the night alone in his expensive suite playing video games was not appealing either.

He knew the bartender Kelly, at least, having been in her establishment a few times before. She was pretty, blonde and cool to chat with.

Glancing over at Tseng and Elena in their private corner booth, he noted they were swapping saliva yet again, and he groaned.

_You know, _he thought, _It's not so much that they are doing __**that**__. It's that she wanted to go out to this damn club, and now all they are doing is __**that**__, and they could have just stayed in their suite and done __**that**__ without me having to watch them. Doing __**that**__._

Thank you, now he could add _horny_ to his list of problems. He glanced back to the bar. "Kelly, can I have another gimlet? Please?" he whined.

"Reno, baby. You can have as many as you want. Why do you sound so miserable?"

"_That,"_ he spat, tossing his head in the happy couple's direction.

She glanced at the amorous Turks, then grinned when she looked back at Reno.

"Jealous much?" she teased.

He scoffed, but then his face crumbled into fake tears and he sobbed _"Yes!"_ before putting his head down on the bar.

Kelly snorted a laugh, picked up his head by his crazy red spikes, wiped off the bar under his face, then put his head back down. "Do not get your alligator tears all over my lacquered mahogany, you freak."

Reno sat up, laughing. "Say Kells," he drawled.

She stopped, leaning on her bar. The look on her face suggested she knew what was coming.

"Yes?" She was smiling at him far too sweetly.

"You're a beautiful woman, I'm a devastatingly handsome guy."

She nodded. "Well, that first part is completely accurate. But do go on."

"There is absolutely no reason why either of us should go home alone tonight."

She bit the inside of her lip, shaking her head. "Who says I am going home alone tonight?"

"_Ditch him._ I promise it'll be _so _worth it," he leered.

She placed a hand to her heart. "Flattered, truly. But, I am not going to ditch _her_, and I don't play for your team, sweetie."

He pretended to cry again.

"_Reno,"_ she said, already weary of the conversation. Kelly reached out to his shoulders and physically spun him on his stool to where he was facing the packed dance floor. "Now. There is a whole sea of beauties out there just waiting for you to knock them over with your considerable, if not occasionally forced, charm. Just don't go for the one that's wearing the purple tube top that's masquerading as a dress, because she's mine. And make _sure_ you pick one that's legal, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah," he said, pretending to be disinterested.

All of a sudden some sort of thrasher metal pop crap started blaring out of the speakers near the dance floor, and the people there – _kids, all young, younger than me, stupid kids - _all gasped and screamed like the number one hit had just come on the radio. Reno rolled his eyes. They were doing a kind of body slamming, stomping thing.

They looked like idiots and it hurt his eyes.

On the side of the crowd, a short young woman with short black hair was struggling to get off the dance floor. She was wearing loose green shorts, a tight black tank top and heavy black boots. Something about her looked oddly familiar to Reno and he narrowed his eyes.

Then he saw the reason why she was struggling. Her arm was attached to some guy's hand. He was trying to pull her back into the throng. The little thing yanked back in retaliation, but hard. The jerk stumbled forward and was forced to come out of the pit with her. But the asshole still refused to let go of her, and her pretty pixie face went dark with rage.

_That_ was when Reno recognized her.

_Shiva's blue butt_, his brain screamed, _that's Yuffie Kisaragi! With __**no hair**__!_

He hopped off the barstool and straightened his jacket. He glanced up to see that the bartender had been watching him. He winked at Kelly, silently saying _spotted me one_, and she smirked back at him, replying _good choice that._

Reno turned and headed towards Yuffie's dilemma. At the very least, he was going to rid the ninja of the asshole kid. Hopefully she'd keep him company for a while afterwards, but if not, that was cool too. He just couldn't leave a comrade in need like that.

Reno crept up close enough behind Yuffie so that he could hear what she was saying over the thrashing music. He wanted to make absolutely sure she did not want this kid bugging her before he interfered to make just exactly that happen. He remembered she used to get a bug up her ass whenever her fellow male comrades would come to her defense.

_Except for Valentine,_ he thought. _She seemed to like it when __**he**__ did it._

The punk still had the tiny ninja's upper arm in a vice. _Stupid, kid. Very, very stupid. _He glanced past Yuffie's ear at Reno, obviously unsure about the redhead's intent.

"I said, _let go,_ you asshole! I wasn't dancing with you! I was _moshing_. That's with _everybody_, ya know?" She wrenched her arm free and rubbed it, giving the young man another deathly glare, one that he foolishly assumed she could not live up to. Said asshole's lip curled defiantly, and he was about to grab her again when Reno spoke, and the punk froze.

"This guy buggin' you, Princess?"

Yuffie twisted to look back then up at him, her face registering shock. Reno's pulse went up a notch when her expression immediately changed to one of happy recognition.

"_Turkey,"_ she whispered saucily.

For two seconds, it was like Asshole wasn't even there. In fact, it was like _no one_ else was there. He grinned back, just a lopsided twitch at the corner of his mouth, and stared at her pretty face.

Later, the thought would occur to Yuffie that Tifa Lockhart just may be a clairvoyant. _That crazy_ _Turk… orange hair... I look hot, in a bar... Reno, walking into a wall… _She'd have to thank her best girlfriend later for giving her such a spectacular haircut.

"Princess?" Asshole yelped, forcing them out of their private reveries and back to the present. "Whassat supposed to mean?"

Reno looked from Asshole back to Yuffie, who was still looking back at him, but her expression had changed to one of pleading. She bit her lower lip, and he caught himself staring at it before he looked back into her eyes.

"It's just a nickname, you idiot." Reno sighed, reluctantly dragging his eyes away from hers to look at the punk. His whole demeanor toward the boy said _you aren't worth the air you breathe._

Asshole sneered. "What – so now you're sayin' you _know_ this little guppy? Get the fucka' ways from my catch, old timer."

Yuffie rolled her eyes. Now she was getting mad.

_Oh yeah, there's our little ninja._

Reno had to stop himself from smiling. Yuffie turned back to Asshole, her hands clenched into tiny iron fists.

"You _so_ did not just call me a fish."

_Uh oh. _

Reno was sure this was going to get ugly if he didn't interfere. He placed a large hand around Yuffie's arm – not at all like the way Asshole had grabbed her, she noted… Much more gentle. Reno's hand felt _good_.

Reno pulled Yuffie back so that he could jockey himself between her and Asshole, then his hand relaxed his hold. The skin on his palm was warm and dry and kind of scratchy, and it felt delicious as it slid down her smooth bare arm. Yuffie shivered inwardly. She tried not to look down at their joined hands where Reno had laced her fingers with his, and was hiding it from Asshole behind his back.

Reno sighed. "_Please_ watch what you're calling the lady, okay? I may have to get violent."

"Yeah. _Okay_. Whatcha gonna do, _rooster_, peck me to death?" Asshole quipped, crossing his arms.

"Maybe you didn't hear me, punk," Reno said, low and angry as he leaned in - and _down_, as Asshole was a good four inches shorter than the Turk. Aqua eyes glinted dangerously in the low light of the club, and Asshole blinked when realization slowly dawned that he'd fucked himself good this time.

They held those positions for about four seconds, when Asshole suddenly sputtered _"my mistake"_, and walked away from them very quickly.

They watched him go, Reno smirking at his retreating back. He looked down at Yuffie, who had closed her eyes and was exhaling like she'd been holding her breath.

He shook their still-joined hands. "Hey, Yuffie… You all right?"

"Yeah, it's just…" she stopped. Yuffie turned and smiled up at him, genuinely. "I'm just trying to remain incognito tonight, Reno."

"Yeah, what's up with that?"

When her beautiful smile faded, and she didn't respond, he let go of her hand and scratched his chin. "I'm sorry. I couldn't stop myself from interfering… I know you ninjas like to fight your own battles."

He grinned down at her. His reward was witnessing a spectacular blush decorate her pretty face.

_Yay me, I'm not a sexist pig and she isn't throttling me, _he thought with glee, remembering one particularly amusing time when the post-battle quarrel between Yuffie and Cid Highwind had been worse than the battle itself.

He took her hand again. "Let's you an' me get a drink, Sugar, and you can tell daddy all about it."

In a pathetic attempt to stop herself from smiling, she bit the inside of her mouth as he pulled her back towards the bar.

•

"Well, _they_ looked cozy," Yuffie said, voice dripping with sarcasm, as she watched Tseng and Elena leaving together. She turned back to Reno. "When did that happen?"

"I dunno," he muttered disgustedly, "Nineteen Forty-five, maybe? Another please, Kells," he said, pushing his empty crystal tumbler towards her. "And get the lady anything she wants."

"Um, can I have another Apple Martini? Oh, and my backpack too, Kelly, please."

"Sure, Yuffie," the blonde answered. She grinned, glancing from Turk to ninja, came to her own private conclusion, and disappeared to the other end of the bar. Reno took out his credit chip and glanced at Yuffie.

"You know Kelly?"

"Yeah, I've been in here more than a few times since they opened. She always stows my gear for me so that I can blow off some steam for a few hours without worrying about my stuff getting filched."

"You said backpack – you out on WRO business?"

"Now, Reno _dear," _Yuffie snickered. "You know that employees of Shinra and the WRO are not permitted to discuss missions with each other unless we are mutually on said mission."

"All right, all right…" he said, smiling. Reno swiped his credit chip at the bar terminal and put it back in his jacket pocket. Yuffie watched him closely, paying attention to his hands and the chip – and where he stashed it.

Reno narrowed his eyes at her. "You gonna try an' swipe that, Princess?"

Yuffie bit the inside of her lip again, blushing. "Old habits, Turkey." She smiled at Kelly, who brought their drinks and then placed Yuffie's backpack on the bar next to her drink. Taking her martini, Yuffie swirled the swizzle stick absentmindedly. "It's just... is that Shinra issue? Cuz I gotta get me one of those."

"Rufus gave it to me, yeah. _I'm_ on a mission, anyway."

"Reeve's never given me, or any Avalanche member I'm pretty sure, a credit chip for a mission." Yuffie scowled. "Don't we rate?"

"Well," Reno quipped, cracking his neck casually and speaking in a haughty tone, "perhaps it's because _I'm_ accustomed to a more civilized lifestyle. As I recall, you and the other freaks spent most of your time sleeping in dingy cots or on the ground. Right?" Reno gave her an exaggerated shiver.

"Um. Well, luxuries were never really the point for us." Yuffie looked down, smiling nostalgically. "Other than kicking ass and avoiding ass-kickings, not much else really mattered… at the time."

He regretted bringing Avalanche up. Not when he was trying so hard to…

_What exactly __**are**__ you trying so hard to do here, again? _Reno thought, and swallowed hard. Never one to linger, his thoughts moved on.

_Yes. You are now officially pursuing Yuffie Kisaragi._

Reno cleared his throat. "So, the backpack. How much longer are you gonna be here?"

"Um… Well, I was going to take off pretty soon. Find a nice resting spot before it gets _too_ dark."

Reno frowned. Suddenly, he was not happy with the idea of her sleeping outside, unprotected. He knew perfectly well the ninja could defend herself, but still… It bothered him – and on a level he didn't expect. He was already starting to feel possessive.

_It's her eyes. She's always had beautiful eyes. Not to mention that perfect little ass…_

"Uh-huh… Then, it's off to - _where_ did you say, Princess?"

"I didn't, Turkey. I didn't."

Reno quirked an eyebrow, smirking.

"I'm back on the road tomorrow morning, latest. What I'm doing isn't WRO, but it's still classified. _Wutai_-classified, 'kay?" Her tone was cheery, but matter-of-fact, letting him know that any further details were off limits.

He smiled softly, knowing it was time to change the subject before he lost any chance he had with her. Whatever it was he was trying to go for, anyway. He still wasn't sure.

That bothered him too. Normally he knew if it was going to be a one-time thing. But he'd never really gone after a comrade before. Flirted, yes, but never pursued with serious intent.

_Serious? Oh shit. Yes, I did just think that._

He decided that there was no sense arguing with himself. Not to mention that it potentially implied he'd gone insane.

_Here we go…_

Reno leaned in close next to Yuffie, putting a hand on her bar stool for leverage, right next to her hip. He was nearly breathing in her ear, and she suddenly remembered how horny she actually was. She would have melted right there on the spot, flowing right into his lap…

Unfortunately, he picked the wrong subject, yet again.

"Okay. So ya can't talk about it. But… Little Princess Yuffie Kisaragi, in a _bar? _What _would_ the Emperor say?" he asked, but he was very quiet about it – making sure no one else heard him.

He was being discreet, she had to give him that. But she didn't want to be reminded about who she was, either. She wanted a night of fun.

"I couldn't give a flying fuck what he or anyone else thinks about my personal habits, Turkey," she blurted out, voice cool and monotone. Her mood had shifted. She glared at him just a little, their faces still close. Even though he knew it was just the subject that'd set her off, it bothered him that she'd stopped flirting.

"Sore subject, huh? I'm sorry, Yuffie. Won't say it again."

She nodded, looking back at her drink without smiling. "Don't get me wrong. I love my father very much. But sometimes…"

"Tell you what. You stop calling me Turkey, and I won't mention Wutai, or your pops, or use the word 'Princess' again. Deal?"

She pursed her lips, trying to hide a smile, stirring her swizzle stick.

_Very perceptive, Reno._

"Deal," she said, looking back at his face, still so very close. He saw her glance from his eyes to his lips and back again, and then she smiled. He pulled back just enough to get his hand off her bar stool.

_Whew. There we go! That's better… Damn she's **cute**. _

"In any case, _Reno_," she said, putting the emphasis on his name and making his brain twitch, "I'd better get a move on before-"

"You should get a hotel room. And you should go out to dinner tonight. With me. If you're gonna be walking all over Gaia tomorrow, you'll need your protein, ninja."

Yuffie smiled, shaking her head.

_He wants sex, _she thought, her mind turning to Reno's reputation. _Come to think of it, I want some sex too… But sex will have to wait. Besides, he's kinda like a teammate. On a team that still kinda includes Vincent. That could get sticky..._

"Thanks all the same," she said, downing her martini, and nodding a _goodbye_ to Kelly, who nodded back. "But I really do have to get going before it gets too late." Yuffie stood up to leave, sliding off her stool and shouldering her pack in the same smooth move. "Thanks a lot for the drink, Reno. And, really, for handling that asshole. It was great to run into you. I'm outta here," she said, winking at him.

Reno stood up immediately with her and grabbed her hand.

"_Awwww_," he drawled, pouting, and she felt her knees go weak.

She swallowed hard. Why was it so difficult to leave him? Why was his charm, of all things, working on her?

_Yeeesh, I must really be hard up,_ Yuffie thought. _Then again, he always was pretty hot. Skanky, but hot._

"C'mon? _Pleeeeeease_? Just stay and talk with me. I thought we were getting along pretty good here!"

He smiled at her that time, genuine, all boyish charm. He wasn't displaying an ounce of the harsh sarcasm she remembered him for – nor had he, all night long, now that she thought of it. He'd teased, flirted, probed for info, but there had been no insulting comments about her past life as a thief, or her height, or her age.

Other than growing up, which _she_ had no control over, she hadn't changed all that much… maybe he had.

She didn't respond – what could she say? Reno shook his head, clearly disappointed. "Sorry, I get it," he said, sitting back down, "You can't talk about it and you have to go. Be careful, anyway."

Yuffie felt bad. The guy was still pouting. She touched his arm, and he swiveled the stool back around easily, as though the slightest pull on her part would have had him at her feet. Massaging her toes.

She shivered at the thought. _**Gods**__! And my feet really are killing me. Maybe he's hard up too,_ she thought with relish. _This could work out. One quick - and from what I've heard, __**fantastic**__ fuck - no commitment, no hard feelings, stay friendly, don't have to call him after…_

"Reno, don't be like that. I _want_ to, really," she grinned up at him. Her hand slipped down his sleeve and brushed against his fingers before retuning to her side.

"But what, Yuffie?" He smiled easy. And he didn't call her Princess. Just like he'd promised.

"I'm… on the road. This was a just a stopover, on the way…" _No, don't tell him any more! There will be too many questions… "_Ah, I just haven't had a real bath or slept in a bed for about three days. I'm not exactly… uh, _fresh_."

"You smell pretty good to _me_," he said.

"_Reno_," she whispered, embarrassed. A small blush crept up her neck and settled very nicely in her cheeks, just above the grin. His heart thudded when she looked down at her feet, then looked back up again, all rosy cheeks and shining eyes.

She continued on. "Plus… Well, I don't have dinner wear. Kinda isn't backpack-friendly clothing, ya know?"

"Uh-huh… So, _do_ you plan on getting a room for the night? Because… while you turning me down for dinner isn't making me happy, that part is _really _bothering me."

"But I'll be on my way again by tomorrow. It's not worth the money me getting a room for just _that_. But then, I hadn't planned on coming in here, either. It just happened!" she shrugged, smiling. "Nice to see you again, though."

Reno knew she was past her teen years, but he couldn't figure out when Yuffie Kisaragi, brat-ninja-thief, had gotten so attractive. Maybe she always had been. He was just too preoccupied flirting with chesty Tifa Lockheart and coddling sensitive Elena and bedding the endless line of slutty bimbos to have noticed.

"Yuffie. This is precisely why you don't get a credit chip when you go on missions. You have to live like you _need_ one. Let me demonstrate: _Pretty little thing like you sleeping on the hard, cold ground? Tsk tsk," _he admonished, delicately tapping the tip of her nose with a fingertip. "And for the _third_ night in a row? Unacceptable." He took her pack from her and shouldered it, downed the rest of his gimlet, and grabbed her hand.

"You just come with me, and Reno will take care of all your troubles," he quipped as he pulled her out of the bar.

She offered him no resistance. His hand - warm and large and strong, just like when he'd gotten rid of Asshole – felt really nice. It reminded her entirely too much of Vincent's… Not that she'd ever held Vincent's hand. She'd just looked at it a lot.

'_Bout the same height, too. _She sighed, _Tall, good-looking, charming loner… Oh, no…_

She looked down as they exited the darkness of the club, squinting at what was left of the sunlight. A small dread set in, thinking she may be making a horrible mistake.

_But why? A mistake for me personally… or because of Vincent? Dammit…_

Reno remembered Yuffie having been a chatterbox, so when she just held his hand and silently fell into step next to him, he looked down at her to make sure she was all right.

"You okay, Yuffie?"

"Sure," she said, smiling up at him. "Could use a little coffee, though. Uh, where are you taking me, Reno?"

He smiled. "Someplace already paid for, with boutiques, they got fancy girl-clothes there, and I can get you yummy coffee drinks, and you can get cleaned up if you want 'cuz there's a bath tub…"

_And a __**bed**__,_ he thought, swallowing hard. _Don't say that. Not yet, anyway. Shit… I __**want**__ her already. Keep cool, Reno._

When Yuffie didn't respond, he felt a small surge of panic. Maybe he was moving too fast. Wouldn't surprise him… Reno looked down at her. She was still smiling, but looked a little nervous, too.

He squeezed her hand.

"I didn't mean anything by that, Yuffie. I'll leave you alone for an hour or so while you work your girl magic. Then I'll come back. With _caffeine,_" he grinned down at her. "And then we can decide where I'm taking you out for dinner, okay?"

"Treating me to all this isn't going to interfere with your mission, is it? Because if it does and Reeve and Rufus find out I will be in so much trob-"

"Mom and Dad won't know we did anything," he joked, not clarifying which boss was which parent, "and don't worry about my mission. Everything is under control and it's all good."

•

Yuffie Kisaragi sat soaking her tired little ninja body in hot, soapy water. After three days of traveling, which had included stowing away on a very dirty cargo ship from Junon harbor to the Gold Saucer, it was absolute heaven. She had been in the tub musing over nothing in particular. The hot water and the jasmine scented bubbles had felt so good, smelled so inviting, that simply diving in and scrubbing the dirt away so that she could get out and get dressed as quickly as possible held little meaning when she felt the heat sinking right into her marrow. Reno was totally right, this was truly doing her a world of good, even if the reasons why were things he couldn't comprehend and probably wouldn't want to.

She knew she was in for a lecture when she squared off with the council again. They'd go on about her too-short haircut and her wanderlust lifestyle, her lack of feminine graces and anything else they could think of to make her feel powerless. Yuffie vowed she would think of this moment, this beautiful hot bath that she was taking in an unmarried man's hotel room. She would keep her attitude cavalier, and it would piss the hell out of them.

_Godo will be proud of me_.

Fully relaxed, she closed her eyes and sank in to the water until her mouth was immersed and she breathed in hot fragrant steam through her nose, just above the water line. She remained still, and took in what had happened so far that night.

It was a very posh hotel. They'd entered the lobby on the ground floor, which was full of windows and sunlight. There were trees and plants everywhere, with a huge waterfall spilling into a pond filled with koi and antique loose change, long since abandoned in favor of the credit system. The waterfall and pond rested between two curved gilded staircases that went up to the first floor, which was buzzing with shops and commerce. To the sides of the stairs were the front desk on the right and the elevators – glass, no less – on the left.

Most sections of the Gold Saucer were nowhere near this affluent. Here, it was a playground for the wealthiest of all Gaia. Yuffie was not fond of this crowd. She had only stopped at Kelly's bar because night would be falling soon, and she wanted a hot meal before disappearing into the wilds between the Gold Saucer and Cosmo Canyon.

Nanaki had sent word ahead to prepare for her arrival. They would transport her to the Southern tip of Wutai Continent. After that, she only had three more days of hiking through her own lands and she'd be back by her ailing father's side.

The hotel Reno was staying in was definitely upscale. Not that she wasn't used to a fancy life in Wutai, being _Princess_ Yuffie, but everything there was traditional. It wasn't _posh. _She preferred her villages where the people were true to themselves and respected the land. Despite being the heir to her nation's throne, the posh life had never suited her.

_A Princess simply does not stow away in dirty cargo ships._ She smirked evilly, her mouth still below the water line. _No, but a __**ninja**__ does…_

After a quiet and slightly uncomfortable-in-a-good-way ride up to the third floor in a glass elevator, Reno opened the door to room number three-two-three, holding it open and letting her slide in past him. "Ninjas first," he'd teased.

All she could manage was a gasp. He truly knew how to live.

There was of course more gilding, but also dark polished wood, purple velvet-covered couches and chairs, a huge window looking out over the city, and a king sized bed covered in more crushed purple velvet – she swallowed when she thought of it now, and managed another blush despite the hot water. There was also a stocked mini-bar with a fridge.

Reno was really throwing her for a loop, being sweet and funny. They were always bickering during the days of Sephiroth. Despite the fact that he (and Rude) had been the ones that had saved her from Don Corneo, she'd behaved like a little bitch and he had been a total fuckwad.

_Things do change,_ she reminded herself, biting her lip to keep from grinning too hard.

Right off the bat, he called down to the concierge for more towels and 'girl things' as he'd put it, making Yuffie snicker. Then he smiled, and leaned away from her to ask for something else, she didn't know what.

It didn't matter. She was too engrossed in all the _posh_ to really notice.

When he got off the phone, he was kind of shy, telling her there was booze at the bar and drinks in the fridge if she was still thirsty. She'd said okay, and asked him about the coffee.

"Nah, the stuff they got in there is pretty bad. I'm gonna go out and give you your privacy anyhow, I'll get you some good coffee when I'm out. I know a place. Say, about an hour?"

"Sure, that's _way_ more than enough time. My hair takes like ten seconds to fix now!" she laughed nervously, fingering the wisps behind her right ear. Now she was getting shy.

He looked down at her, smiling. "I like this on you," he said, touching her barely-there bangs. "It suits you. Shows off those pretty eyes."

She bit her lip, and looked away smiling.

He'd paused for a moment, watching her. Clearing his throat, he said he was off, just as housekeeping came up with the towels and toiletries.

The maid laid out the things in the bathroom, and Yuffie stood there, feeling horribly provincial and useless. She doubted she could ever get used to such a lifestyle.

The maid had brought a Jasmine-scented toiletry set and a citrus one, and told Yuffie that she should feel free to take them both with her when she checked out. Then she mentioned that the dresses would be up in a few more minutes, "So if you'd be gracious enough to wait until they have been delivered before you take your bath that would be good, yes? You are free to try on as many as you'd like."

Yuffie was confused, and questioned that, so maid answered, "Mr. Reno, he asked for us to bring up some clothing in your size that would be suitable for a night on the town?"

"Oh," was all she could manage.

What a guy. Then she thought about how the conversation must have gone when he was trying to _describe_ her size to the concierge.

•

When Reno returned with coffee, Yuffie was dressed to go, wearing a dark red flouncy sundress that fell to just above her knees. She found a nice pair of sandals to go with it, too.

Reno stared. _Simple. No fuss with her. And she still looks fantastic. _

"You like?" she asked, twirling once. "Good enough for eating out?"

"Man, don't you clean up nice. You look great, Yuffie," he said, grinning. He handed her the coffee. "I know just where to take you, too."

They walked a few blocks to a restaurant that specialized in seafood, holding hands and gabbing about nothing in particular all the way. Yuffie was a little shocked to find that she was already completely relaxed with Reno. She wasn't thinking about her dad, or Vincent, or even Wutai. Just listening to the sound of his voice seemed to do the trick.

Reno requested a private table just in case anyone recognized his bright hair, or that he had royalty on his arm. Yuffie needed to be a civilian tonight, and while he didn't know the reason why, it felt right helping her.

The hostess sat them at a table in the back party room. Despite the late hour, the front room of the place was still bustling, but there was no one else in sight where they were.

Their waiter, an adorable kid in his late teens, brought them water and menus. At first he seemed quite thrilled to have customers all to himself in the isolated room, saying "Hello! I'm Lee, I'll be your server tonight" with a graceful smile.

Lee was obviously Wutainian to Yuffie's eyes, and it didn't surprise her one bit when he took one good look at her, gasped, averted his eyes, fell to one knee, and remained in that position.

Reno was about to haul them out of the restaurant when Yuffie put a hand on his arm. "It's okay. Lemme handle this," she whispered, winking at him.

She stood up, holding out her hand, palm down. She said something to the boy in Wutai, and he stood up, but still would not make eye contact with her. He took her hand and kissed her knuckles.

Yuffie said something else that made Lee laugh and he finally looked at her directly. She continued speaking, and he nodded now and again, blushing. He said a few things to her as well, but he spoke so softly Reno could barely tell he was speaking at all.

He wondered if that was the custom in Wutai, speaking in hushed tones when addressing a royal. Hushed tones was not something he was good at.

Their conversation went on for a bit, then Yuffie said something while tossing her head in Reno's direction. The boy nodded at her, then he stood and bowed to Reno.

Not knowing what was happening but also not wanting to be impolite, the Turk stood up and returned a little bow back to Lee, very stiffly. Reno looked at Yuffie, with a face that said _help?_

She nodded happily at him, her own expression saying _just right, Reno_, so he sat back down.

Lee turned back to his princess and shared a few more words with her in their native language, then he smiled at Reno and left.

"We okay, then?" asked Reno, flapping his napkin open and laying it across his lap.

"We okay," she teased. "I told him that you are my bodyguard and we are secretly in love. By the way it's your birthday did you know - that was the bow, there, and I think it will get us free cake! I actually know him, or at least the group he belongs to." She snapped her napkin out with a flourish. "I don't have to worry about him giving me away. They are exiles."

"Exiles? What, from Wutai? Why would anyone get exiled from there?"

She shook her head sadly. "No. Exiles by choice, actually. Things are happening there… Things that are going to have to be dealt with, and soon. Bad things. There is a very conservative movement gaining ground. Lee is gay. The group he left with is filled with artists, activists, environmentalists, many others, some just like Lee – a young kid that has been made to feel helpless and isolated by the people surrounding him. Lee and the group he is with, these are citizens that exemplify our diversity as a nation. We could not afford to lose any of them. I was very vocal, very _publically_ vocal, in my disappointment over their treatment. That didn't go over too well with some people." She shook her head.

_Gods… she sounds so much more polished than I remember her to be._

"The Emperor chew you a new one?" Reno sounded completely sympathetic.

"No, no. Godo and I actually see eye-to-eye on many things. He's pretty liberal for an old man. He just wants more commerce in Wutai, so that we can stand on our own again, and he's gone to great lengths to try and get us there. _I_ want Wutai to be more like we were before the tourist trade – pastoral and powerful. That's me an' Godo's main conflict. But the _movement_," she said the word as though it was dripping with poison, "considers people like our cute waiter _deviants of the state_. Although they have no official political power, they do have some numbers, and they can make life hell for you if there are too many of them hanging around your village and you aren't… Well, whatever it is they want us to be. Something militant and drab olive, I suspect. I have yet to figure that one out."

"What's Godo going to do?"

Yuffie paused. _He's not going to do anything. My poor father is going to help me deal with it as much as he is able and then he is going to die and I will have to deal with it on my own._

"I… I don't know."

•

Yuffie and Reno flirted, laughed, scarfed appetizers, danced, kissed and drank, all alone in the privacy of the party room, dragging the night out into a long couple of hours before they were ready to order.

Lee kept the others at bay, keeping his Princess's secret to himself. He didn't really buy Yuffie's shtick about her escort being her bodyguard – her ninja prowess was well known – and he wasn't sure about the _in love_ business either. But it was obvious they were more than friends, and he secretly hoped his sovereign-to-be would get lucky with the tall, gorgeous redhead.

But Reno wasn't paying enough attention to see that she was ready to get lucky.

Oh Leviathan, was she ever _ready_.

"I'll have the steak and lobster combo, with potatoes and green beans. Order whatever you want, Yufs, but make sure you get some protein."

He was obviously hungry, as he read over the menu with zeal and was not really paying attention to her now.

"Oh, I plan on getting a whole _lotta_ protein tonight."

Nothing.

She turned to Lee, shrugging. _He's not getting it._

Lee was hiding a smirk behind his ticket book. She nodded at him sarcastically, throwing a thumb in Reno's direction. "I'll have what he's having," she sighed.

"Very good, miss," said Lee. Reno was still preoccupied, and Yuffie shook her head at their waiter. She had to squint as the young man turned his ticket book to her and pointed to a tiny little box that said 'take out'. He smiled expectantly at her.

She smiled back, biting her lip.

"Um, Reno?"

Reno continued perusing the menu, moving to the dessert section as he absentmindedly said "Hnn?" to Yuffie in response.

She bit her lip again, shy, no longer able to hide the smile or the blush.

_It's now or never, girl._

"Can we get this to go?"

Eventually, after what she'd said sunk in, he turned and stared at Yuffie. He found she was eyeing him like he was the hot, juicy, _satisfying_ steak she'd just ordered. He was stunned into silence. Reno nearly choked on his own spit as he had to remind himself to breathe.

Lee did a great job at biting back his smirk, but he kept looking from Reno to Yuffie, watching to see how it would play out.

Reno cleared his throat, set down the menu, threw his linen napkin on top of it, smiled reassuringly at Yuffie, then looked up at the Lee, saying, "_Absolutely_. Pack it up, Garçon."

Triumphant, Lee X'd the take out box dramatically while quipping "_Yes, sir!"_, then walked off smiling broadly.

They just sat there staring at each other for a long moment.

Yuffie finally smiled at him, now more flushed than ever, and said, "You be sure and give him a _really_ big tip, Reno."

•

Yuffie had to admit, that despite his (maybe undeserved?) manwhore reputation, Reno had done a fabulous job containing his excitement. From the moment she had informed him, albeit allusively, that he was going to get laid tonight, they'd had to _wait._

Somehow they managed to stop staring at each other and they got up from their table at the restaurant. Then Reno paid the bill and they waited for the food to be boxed and bagged. Lee had done what he could, hissing the urgency to the chefs behind the kitchen doors, but still… cold, live lobsters first had to be made into hot, dead ones before they could be counted as food.

Then there was the long, torturous walk back to the hotel. Hands were held, then arms were linked, then shoulders stroked, then bags were simply dropped to the sidewalk and there was some clingy hugging and passionate kissing. There were protestations of_ stop that_ and _keep_ _walking or we'll never get_ _there_ and _I need to breathe now _and _oh my gods, can this take any longer?_

The answer to that last one was _yes_, because then came the really difficult ride up in that damn glass elevator where they still couldn't make out because everyone would have seen them doing it.

Bare, sweaty flesh pressed up against public glass, ew.

Reno began to lose his cool, though, when the elevator _finally_ dinged and the doors slid open like _molasses_ and they fled the little glass prison and turned into the hallway, running straight in the direction of room number three-two-three.

There was no one else in the hall, so he shoved the bags of food into Yuffie's hands, and picked her up, tossing her over his shoulder as he ran down the hall to the door. She giggled as he fumbled with the key card. His hands were beginning to shake, but he got the damn door open and he set her down as gently as he could manage, pulling the door shut and grabbing the food from her hands.

Yuffie just stood still and laughed. He was moving so fast that she didn't want to get in his way out of fear of being knocked down. He ran to the fridge and threw the bags in, swung the door shut and ran back to her, all in one fluid motion. He picked her up again, this time marriage-style, and kissed her thoroughly. That made them both very dizzy, and his path to the bed became a bit of a struggle. It only got worse when she starting playing with his hair.

"Aren't you hungry? I thought you were _hungry_," Yuffie keened, whispering in his ear and weaving her fingers through his crazy red locks. She tugged on the strands and bit his earlobe softly.

She already wanted him inside her.

"_Starving,"_ Reno said through clenched teeth, leaning over the velvet bedspread and laying her out before him. Her hands let go of his hair, and slipped down to his broad, sinewy shoulders. She pulled, bringing him down with her until he was almost on top of her. He had no choice but to straddle the sides of her body, on his knees, to avoid laying on top of her.

Eager, Yuffie tried to pull Reno closer again, but he resisted, not wanted to crush her despite how badly he wanted to crush her _against_ him.

This wasn't some unnamed bimbo underneath him and he wanted to be sure that she knew his respect for her was intact, and still would be come morning – if they lasted that long. He _wanted _it to last that long. Longer, even.

She was royalty. She was a comrade. She was a _friend_. Not trusting himself with her yet, he placed his hands palms-down on either side of her shoulders on the bed and looked at her, silently pleading for her consent. Yuffie bit her lip again. She was frustrated that they weren't even naked yet, but she knew she was going to have to give him a signal, something like permission, before he'd go any further.

Wrapping her arms around his neck, she used his body to pull herself up and off the bed. As she arched her back and rubbed the entire length of her torso against his, she kissed him with everything she had.

He felt every inch of her through that little dress, and he moaned into her mouth while lowering her back to the bed.

Yuffie's ankles and toes responded, flexing and tightening with want, until she finally couldn't stop herself from popping her legs out from between his thighs and wrapping them around his waist. He felt her amazing ninja muscles stiffen against him, and Reno suddenly realized he'd be a very lucky man if she didn't cause his brain to explode before morning.

•

It was just before four in the morning when they both woke up with growling stomachs.

Reno got out of bed, sauntering over to the small refrigerator to get some of their dinner. Yuffie got up on her elbows and watched him moving, quietly admiring the view.

"Do you want some of the veggies? Or just the _meat_?" he asked, leering back at her.

"I need some protein."

"You mean you need some _more_ protein," he muttered sarcastically, smiling to himself. Unashamed, she snickered loudly from the bed.

"Lobster and steak it is, then." He grabbed a plate and tossed one tail and steak on it, along with a knife and two forks and a linen napkin.

"Um… I meant to tell you earlier… about Rude," she offered as he sat back down on the bed and handed her a fork. "I'm sorry, Reno. I never got the chance to tell you how bad I felt for you. I was in Wutai doing… some _royal_ crap, I don't know, when it happened."

"Oh… yeah. That day sucked. Thanks," he said, clearing his throat and kissing her once on the lips. "Best partner ever. At least he didn't suffer much. But I still miss him."

Yuffie smiled, squeezing his forearm lightly. She could tell she didn't need to say anything more about it. Reno cut both of the meats into several pieces and held the plate between them. It grazed Yuffie's bare knee and she gasped.

"Ah! _Cold,_" she laughed, rubbing her knee.

"Eh, sorry. I'm having trouble concentrating. You are very distracting."

Yuffie smiled at him, and speared a chunk of lobster. She plopped it in her mouth and gave a satisfied hum while chewing, and Reno smiled in return.

"Good even _cold_, ain't it?" He claimed a piece of the steak. "I love this restaurant," he said around his charred cow.

"Oh, by the way, thanks," she said, also with food in her mouth.

"For what?" He reached over with the napkin and wiped her chin.

She swallowed, smiling. "I've won the pool at the WRO."

He frowned. "You've lost me, gorgeous."

"I had you down for dark auburn. I win," she grinned cheekily.

He nearly choked on a bit of lobster. Yuffie giggled and pounded him on the back. "Gods above..." he wheezed, coughing. "It's good to know you folks at the World Regenesis Organization are working so very hard."

She snickered as she sat back down in front of him. "So do you just lighten the top then, or what?"

"I'll never tell."

They continued to eat in silence for a bit, smiling and stealing glances at each other.

"Um, Yuffie?"

"Yeah?"

"I… I know the Emperor's not doing too well. That what's going on with you?"

Yuffie glanced up at his face, right into aqua eyes so sincere they were painfully pretty. He was trying to get her to open up. She looked back down at the plate and kept her eyes on it. Spearing a piece of the steak, she muttered, "Not many secrets amongst the elite of Shira and the WRO, are there?"

He shook his head, afraid he'd overstepped her carefully placed boundaries. "I didn't mean to pry, Yuffie. I just–"

"No, no. It's okay. I'm not mad. But… yeah. Godo's sick, and I gotta go home for now. He needs me, I guess. Gonna need me more if this damned _movement _thing…"

She put the piece of steak in her mouth, stopping herself from saying anything else.

Reno cleared his throat. "I'm actually done here – with the mission, I mean, so I have some time to myself. I won't be able to get us a helicopter, but I could put off going back to Shinra HQ and go with you tomorrow… if you wanted."

She smiled nervously, looking back up at him as she swallowed. _Vincent goes to see Nanaki pretty often. After our little altercation, he may even be there right now._

If her beloved gunslinger was there, strolling into Cosmo Canyon on Reno's arm could lead to a whole mess of sour grapes. She simply did not want to deal with that.

"Reno, that is _so_ sweet, really," she whispered, kissing him for good measure. She was trying to keep the emotion from tightening her voice. He'd heard it, though.

Running into her crush aside, there were other reasons he shouldn't escort her. "I should go alone. There's this big _attitude_ in Wutai right now about not accepting foreign aide. If I show up with a Turk, well… I don't think blurting out _'no no no he's not here to help us he's just here to fuck my brains out'_ will win me any popularity votes."

He snickered.

"And… What with Godo's illness, it's going to…" she had to stop, swallowing hard and clearing her throat. "It's gonna be a difficult enough visit."

_He'll find out why soon enough,_ she thought, _when the Turks and Rufus Shinra get their coronation invitations. _

"Okay. I gotcha," he whispered, squeezing her hand.

She laughed quietly and shook her head, a thought suddenly occurring to her as she put her fork down on the now empty plate.

"What?"

"Nothing. It's just…" She exhaled. "It's silly."

Reno set the plate and the rest of the cutlery on the nightstand.

"Tell me," he said, turning back to her and pulling her down with him as they got back under the covers. "Please?"

Yuffie snuggled in closer to him, shivering, wanting Reno's heat again, everywhere, all over her, making her forget her own name. She closed her eyes and took a long, satisfied breath.

"You're the first person who has offered to do that. Escort me, I mean."

Reno frowned in the dark. "Who else have you told you're going back?"

She thought about Avalanche, and Vincent in particular. "Everyone," she laughed mirthlessly. "Everyone."

He turned onto his side, fitting her front against his and rubbing the smooth skin on her back to warm her up.

"Idiots."

"No, not really, they just _totally _respect my independent nature, and–"

"No, _really_, they're idiots," he muttered, slightly disgusted.

Then he kissed her, and she forgot her name again.

•

For breakfast, or technically _brunch_, they discovered that Lee had slipped in two very generous pieces of sweet white birthday cake at the bottom of the bag, which went splendid with some hot black coffee. There was also a note from their very smart waiter, addressed to Yuffie and written in Wutai script. Reno did not know what Lee had said to her in it, as Yuffie couldn't even bring herself to read it aloud. But she had to wipe a few tears away after reading it. She folded it with utmost care and secured it in her backpack.

Reno had kissed her and said he wanted to see her again, and kissed her some more, but all she could do was sigh and smile. She tried to think about how fantastic the Turk had made her last real night of freedom.

She did _not_ want to think about how she was off to commit the rest of her life away to the greater good of all Wutai. If she thought about that too much, she'd have to tell him, and she wasn't ready to see a crushed look on his pretty face. She wanted to remember him just as he was now, happy and affectionate.

_Lock the memory away and keep it perfect, so that you can re-live it in your mind's eye later. When you will **need** such thoughts to get by…_

Eventually Yuffie pulled away from Reno and left. She made it out the door of his suite at half past noon, not exactly on schedule but not really giving a damn, either. It'd be late when she got to Cosmo Canyon, and after midnight before she'd reach the bottom of Wutai proper.

She felt cold by the time the elevator door opened before her.

Now he was staring after her from the suite's picture window as she walked away in the street below. He gripped the ceramic handle of his coffee cup so tight it was vibrating. Reno didn't even flinch as a few drops of hot liquid dripped over the edge, burning his hand.

"C'mon Yufs… Look back, baby. _Just once._ Gimme one look, right over that beautiful bare shoulder."

He held his breath. She kept walking.

And Yuffie just kept walking. She gripped her bag tighter. She wouldn't look. She couldn't. Couldn't give him hope like that. It would be _mean_, and you don't do mean things to the people you care about, right?

_I wonder if he's looking. Oh, GAWD, Yuffie! You dumbass! You almost turned and looked at him just to see if he is looking at you! _

She sucked in a breath and clenched her eyes shut.

_Don't look don't look don't look. You're never going to touch him again like you did last night I don't care how hot it was so, just… Do Not Look._

She swallowed hard, trying not to think about how unexpectedly sweet he had been. She had imagined he'd be an animal in bed, and he had been, but only when called for. He had done all _kinds_ of things with her and it had been… well, lovely. It registered in her brain that he wasn't known for that sort of behavior, and now that she thought about it, she couldn't remember ever seeing him with a serious girlfriend.

But it was there in his eyes… in his voice, his kiss, when he'd touched her within and inch of her life in bed, when he had scrubbed her back in the morning shower, and when he'd said farewell to her not five minutes ago.

_He wants to see me again._ What the hell was she supposed to do with that?

Setting aside the fact that she didn't have the freedom to do that anymore, if they continued this he'd eventually want the _one _thing she couldn't ever fully give him, her heart. She knew, deep down, it still belonged to Vinc–

_Reno. We're thinking about __**Reno**__ here, girl. Unexpectedly sweet. And hot. He'd been hot, too. Ah, Leviathan… How the __**hell**__ does this shit happen so fast?_ She sighed, feeling that loveliness building inside. She hadn't felt that way in a long, long time.

_Fuck it._

Yuffie halted in her tracks and rolled her eyes. She knew she was going to do something foolish even though she still had every chance to stop. She turned slowly, glancing sheepishly up at the window of the room they had occupied. The sun glare was so fierce that she couldn't see a thing through the glass, but she didn't need to see Reno to know he was watching her leave.

Yuffie allowed her heart to leap, just a little bit. She smiled softly at the window, and winked, then turned back to her chosen path and casually went on her way.

But back in the posh room that still reeked of really great sex, Reno – Turk (title), Martial Artist (nonspecific), and Sex Machine (_totally_ confirmed) – gagged on a mouthful of coffee.

Yuffie had looked back at him. Fuck, she'd _winked._

"Ha ha, YEAH! _Who's your daddy?"_ he shouted, fisting the air, then yelped as half a mug of hot coffee scalded his hand.

•

_tbc_

•

If you read it, please review it. Thanks! :3


	3. Chapter 3

• **Square Enix owns all of these toys. I spent money to learn about them, I earn no money in borrowing them.**

• **RATED M. This fic is meant for adult eyes only.**

• Please see chapter one for additional notes.

• It is with this chapter that I begin a break with canon, from which I can no longer look back.

•

**Empress & Concubine**

**Chapter Three**

This Crown Thing Sorta Pinches

•

It was now mid-August and the whole of Wutai was in good spirits. Yuffie's coronation was set for the first Saturday in September, and nearly the entire nation was already in party mode, the movement remaining mercifully quiet. Yuffie and her little staff – which consisted of Chekov, taking a break from her council duties, and Yuri, who was apprenticing to join the council – had time to plan for the big day with little interference.

Formal, handmade invitations had gone out two weeks after she'd returned from the Avalanche reunion at Seventh Heaven. They'd heard back from everyone, including Vincent, who in his reply said he would meet up with Nanaki in Cosmo Canyon and they'd come to Wutai together. There was no mention of a 'box of hair'; not that Yuffie was expecting a retort.

Even Rufus Shinra was, in his own words, 'pleased to attend'. Godo didn't even bother trying to contain his contempt with that one.

"Daddy, please be nice. He is trying to make amends. Besides, Reno works for him and I–"

She gasped as caught herself just in time before she said something she knew _Godo_ would regret.

Reno's invitation had been returned faster than anyone else's, prompting Yuffie to imagine that he may have commandeered a Shinra helicopter to drop the fancy envelope from the sky on top of the palace.

Reno had checked the '_will_ _attend'_ box. Below that he crossed dark lines through the '_with guest'_ choice, and amended the selection by scrawling '_totally coming dateless just for you babe' _in its place. Then he wrote something vulgar about what sort of outfit she should consider wearing for the ascension, as in '_none at all'_.

Unfortunately, Yuffie had been at a fitting the day that Reno's invitation came back, and Chekov had been going through the royal mail. It promptly wound up in the Emperor's clenched fist.

It was now weeks later, and the subject of _that Turk_ was still grating on the Emperor's nerves. When Yuffie winced and turned to face her father, she found he was glaring at her with his arms crossed tight against his barrel chest. Failing health or not, the man was still bat-shit scary.

Giving him an apologetic smile, Yuffie shrugged helplessly. Godo waved an impatient hand at his defiant daughter while making a disgusted sound in the back of his throat, and stomped into the gardens.

•

Two weeks before the coronation ceremony, Tifa Lockhart showed up on the palace doorstep, with Cloud in tow. Her pregnancy was just beginning to show, and she smiled at Yuffie with a gleam in her eye and a suitcase in her hand.

"Cloud insisted on bringing me himself. He isn't staying long, but I am. Need any help?" She smiled.

"Oh _gawd_, yes! Thank you!" Yuffie screeched.

Yuffie loved Chekov like a substitute grandmother, and Yuri was always near, so she had him to talk to as well. But a girlfriend? Not really. She was very nervous about the ceremony and Tifa's timing could not have been better.

Godo had taken Cloud aside to talk news of Gaia or the WRO, but when he found out that Tifa was pregnant, their talk became a lecture about the responsibilities of becoming a father.

"Two hours, _minimum_," Yuffie quipped under her breath to Tifa, as Godo dragged Cloud onto the veranda for some lunch. "Cloud's gonna hear all sorts of shit about umbilical cords and whooping cough and breast feeding and earning a good wage. Watch, his eyes will be popping out of his head when they come back."

"I'll _get_ him back, won't I?" Tifa asked nervously.

Tifa and Yuffie escaped for some privacy. The two women ran a detour to the kitchens, grabbing cookies, potato chips, rice, cold asparagus, and orange juice, prompting Yuffie to say, "That kid's gonna come out with orange peel for skin, Lockhart."

Then they locked themselves in Yuffie's chambers for a little girl talk. They got on her big royal bed, Tifa sitting up at first until she was comfortable enough to lie down on her back. Yuffie plopped down next to her on her stomach crunching on the chips.

"Can'tcha lay on your tummy anymore?"

"Oh? Yeah. I can. For a little while. It's just my back hurts right now. I'll flip over in a sec."

"Are you still practicing your arts?"

"Well, I'm _trying_," she muttered. "I get tired quicker. Cloud's already on me to stop. What about you?"

"Do _not_ tell a soul, but…" Tifa's head popped up. Yuffie's voice sounded strange, almost apologetic.

"What?"

"It shames me to say that I am no longer the Great Ninja Yuffie. Just a plain ninja. And not a very good one, either."

"_Shocking."_

"Bitch." They giggled. "I was in the dojo with Shake the other day. All he did was defeat, defeat, defeat. It was embarrassing!"

Tifa smiled sympathetically. "We're either going to have to adjust… or _make_ the time to be bad-asses, Yuffie. That's all there is to it."

Yuffie nodded. She hated not being the greatest ninja ever. But, a little part of her was actually looking forward to being an Empress, too.

Tifa flipped over slowly, until they were laying side-by-side on their stomachs.

"So… Did Cloud throw my hair at Vincent?"

Tifa shook her head 'no' and winced. "Don't be mad."

"Aw! You _chickened out?_ Gawd!"

"I'm sorry. I decided to do something else with it. You may not be sentimental, but I am." Tifa took another sip of her orange juice. "Look, I need to ask you something."

"Ask away," Yuffie quipped.

"Okay, well… last week Cloud got an email from Shinra HQ. It was from that Turk, Reno." Tifa glanced at Yuffie, who suddenly started smirking. "He said Reno was asking for your cell phone number, which Cloud refused to give him. And just now, before we left, I heard your father muttering something to Cloud about him. He sounded pissed. What the heck is going?"

"Eh. Well… Daddy found out that Reno and me…" she paused and shook her head, remembering that night. "Okay, here it is. A few days after you chopped my hair off, we kind of hooked up at a fancy bar in that new rich resort outside of Gold Saucer."

Tifa looked appalled. Yuffie rolled away slightly to avoid eye contact as she turned six shades of red. "Yuffie! _Reno?"_ Tifa screamed behind a hand, laughing. _"Oh gods!"_

Yuffie started snickering, then that turned into a full-fledged giggle. Tifa was right behind her.

"You little slut!"

"I _know_, right?"

Tifa wiped away a tear. "Well… was it any good?"

Yuffie blushed harder. "The best I've ever had."

Thinking better of it, Tifa had to stop herself from saying _that's only because you and Vincent haven't gotten together yet._

"Really? That good?"

"It was mind-blowing."

"Wow. Good for you, Yuffie. I'm glad. You deserve to have your mind blown now and again." She grabbed a cookie and took a small bite. "So… are you involved with Reno now?"

"Nah. It was just that one time."

"Sounds like it was a helluva time, though."

"Well, he is planning to come to my coronation, and if he does, I am hitting that again."

"What if you get caught?" Tifa asked, biting her lip.

Yuffie closed her eyes and hummed happily. _"Mmmmm_, don't care." Then she thought about Godo. She didn't really want to cause the old man that much grief. "No, not true, I _do_ care. But, I will not get caught because while I am no longer a great ninja, I can still sneak around well enough to play doctor with a boy."

Tifa smiled at her. "Okay then, so you might be falling for him?"

"With Reno? I don't know… It was nice. I mean we were affectionate and all, but…" she grimaced slightly. "Probably not. It wasn't like that. Eh…Definitely not." She nodded. "Okay, _never_."

"You still want that to be Vincent?"

Yuffie looked at Tifa, who offered no apologies. "Vinnie had his shot, Tifa. He missed."

"Vincent doesn't miss. Ever. He just chose not to shoot."

"Yeah, but… From my boots, it's the same thing."

"What if he decides to shoot later?"

Yuffie tilted her head, saying, "That's tricky. I may be married by then."

"You'd _marry_ Reno?" the older woman asked, incredulous.

"_No!_ I can't marry _Reno_. The dude has to be Wutai, or at least look like it. Reno couldn't pass for Wutai with the lights off, trust me." She snickered. "Besides. I am not in love with him."

"Then… _who?"_

"Whatever guy I can find that fits the profile and won't drive me crazy and… keeps my interest peaked… The point is, to find him before the council finds someone for me."

Tifa curled her lip.

"I know. It's totally gross. But that there's the life of a Wutai royal."

"Your mother and father…?"

"Fairytale romance. Council never had a say in that. Daddy met and fell in love with mama, and vice versa, shortly after she was crowned. They married, he took the Kisaragi surname as royal tradition dictates, and that was that."

Tifa picked at the quilt they were laying on, slyly adding, "Vincent could pass for Wutai."

"Would you get off that chocobo already? Vincent. Is. Not. Interested."

"Well, I disagree. He just needs to gather his nerve."

"You think? Well, he better gather his nerve really fast, 'cause I only have so much time left."

"Like how much time?"

She put a finger to her lip. "Okay, well… don't freak, but… I'm gonna be twenty-three this November. If I don't find a husband myself by the time I'm twenty-five, they'll find one for me. A quarter of a century has pretty much been their limit. Traditionally."

"That's just over two years. Have some patience. He'll come around."

"Tifa, we are talking about _Vinnie._ Three decades napping in a coffin Vinnie? It took him over a _year_ to pick out a new pair of boots after I finally onvinced him the shiny pointy ones were a _tad_ overkill since Deepground ended."

"Still."

"It's all hypothetical anyhow. All I can think about right now is the coronation. I'm… a little petrified, you know?"

"Hey," Tifa said quietly, rubbing her hand on Yuffie's back. "You've got me here for as long as I can handle it."

"Thanks, Teef. I can't believe you did this. Especially not now!"

"Well, you know how you said you didn't want to be treated any differently just because you're gonna be Empress?"

"Yeah."

"Well, don't treat me any different just because I'm gonna have a baby, okay? All the guys are doing that already, and it's making me _nuts_. Cid dropped by the other day and he actually pulled my chair out for me when we sat down to lunch."

Yuffie curled her lip.

"I know. It was _creepy_."

Yuffie paused to look her in the eyes.

"Thanks, Tifa. You're my best friend."

"Sweetie… I thought that was Vincent."

Yuffie bit the inside of her lip and looked down. "Vincent is…" she sighed. "Oh, hell. I don't know what to think about Vincent Valentine anymore. Whatever future I thought we may have had never existed, and whatever we had before, well… I may have totally fucked that up."

Tifa winced. Yuffie was still distressed over Vincent. It was obvious that she wanted to patch things up with him, but she was still pretty angry too. Either way, there was no time for her to deal with that now.

Trying not to dwell, Yuffie beamed at her. "But _you_ are my best _girlfriend_, Teef. And no one can compete with that!"

•

Yuffie stood in front of the Altar of Leviathan in the middle of the largest public courtyard in Wutai, trembling. _Get your shit together, girl. You're doing this for Wutai,_ she thought, and looked over at her father briefly.

Godo had seen for himself just exactly how nervous Yuffie was before the ceremony began. The large breakfast had been a big mistake. Both Chekov and Tifa had tried to warn her, but no, she just _had_ to have that last sausage link.

She'd vomited it all up right before the ceremony, and it was worse than any motion sickness episode by far. Godo tried to put the image out of his head – Chekov yanking off Yuffie's ceremonial kimono at the last possible second, while she hurled into the bucket that Tifa had decided to carry around – "just in case". He considered Cloud a very lucky man to have such a smart woman in his life, but if the fool didn't marry her soon, he'd have to have a another talk with him.

Then he though of his own little girl, and how selflessly she had given up her wandering ways for his needs. He could see the fear in her eyes, so he gave her a sympathetic smile and winked for good measure.

_And Daddy, _Yuffie thought, giving him a quick nervous smile in response._ I'm doing it for Daddy. _

She wore a pure silk dark gold kimono that was decorated with various images of Leviathan in iridescent greens and blues – Kisaragi Yuffie's coronation kimono, custom made just for her. She would have considered such a thing romantic, but by tomorrow it would be locked behind glass in the Wutai Royal Artifacts museum. The traditional tabi were far too thick and hot for her tastes, and the geta were just too hard, but she persevered. And despite the fact that her super short boy-hair looked out of place with her outfit, she was truly beautiful, like an elf wrapped in gilded paper. Down below in the assembly, Vincent tried not to look like he couldn't take his eyes off of her. Reno didn't bother with formalities and blatantly ogled her.

To Yuffie's right was the High Priest of the Clergy of Leviathan, a very nice and patient man, who had long suffered her practical jokes with an understanding that only comes from age and experience. Godo sat off to the side in the altar's throne, the subtle crown of the Emperor on his head. Standing next to him at the ready was her childhood friend Yuri, holding a silk pillow. Nestled on top was what would soon be Yuffie's crown as Empress.

The assembly present was larger than anyone had expected. A good portion of the Wutai population was there, packed into the courtyard. Children had scaled the stonewalls in the back to get a better view. Guests of the Kisaragi Family, the clergy, the military, the council and the ninjas were present. All were silent in joining the High Priest as he completed the prayers to Leviathan. Then he and Yuffie turned to face each other in front of the ancient stone statue, and he began Yuffie's coronation ceremony.

"This we do before all of Wutai. Will you, Princess Kisaragi Yuffie of the Kisaragi bloodline, solemnly promise and swear to govern the Peoples of the Empire of Wutai, according to our respective laws and customs?"

"I solemnly promise so to do."

"Shit, she sounds _terrified_," whispered Cid, and Shera shushed him.

The High Priest smiled down at her softly, hoping to instill some courage. He hadn't conducted a coronation ceremony since Godo had married Yuffie's mother and was crowned Emperor. "Will you to your power, cause Law and Justice to be executed, impartially and mercifully, in all your judgements?"

"I will," she fairly squeaked.

The High Priest had seen this girl scale the face of the palace at eight years old, and laugh while cutting down monsters unaided as a teenager – both incidents that had frightened _him_. Yet here they were, a simple little crowning ceremony, and she was shaking like a leaf.

He whispered, "You're doing just _fine_, Yuffie," and she nodded just enough for him to see. He continued, "Will you to the utmost of your power maintain in the Empire of Wutai the Laws of Leviathan and the true profession of His words? Will you maintain and preserve without fail the settlement of the Altar of Leviathan, and the doctrine, worship, discipline, and government thereof, as by law established in Wutai? And will you preserve unto the Clergy of Leviathan, and to the Altars committed to His charge, all such rights and privileges as held by the laws that appertain to them?"

"All this I promise to do," she said, and her voice was a bit stronger.

Yuffie turned back to the Altar, and was handed the ceremonial tantō of the Kisaragi bloodline from the priest. She stood at the base of the water snake and turned to face the assembly. Raising the tantō high above her head, she said aloud to the people gathered, "The things which I have here before promised, I will perform and keep as the next Empress in the Kisaragi bloodline. So help me Leviathan."

She turned back, and held her left hand above the coiled scales of the snake, still just a carved stone statue but looking all too real to her in that moment. She pierced her palm with the tantō, never flinching. Yuffie squeezed the wound and blood dripped from her fist onto the altar, and she said a silent prayer to herself.

Gazing at her blood as it trailed down the curve of the serpent's body, tiny rivulets of red between the scales, Yuffie knew there was no going back.

The High Priest moved in quickly, taking the tantō and handing it to another priest for ritual cleaning and storing. He cleansed Yuffie's palm using purified water from the altar's fountain, all the while sensing her nervousness and smiling at her gently. Then he bound her wound in clean, white silk.

The High Priest bowed and declared to her, "Kisaragi Yuffie of the Kisaragi bloodline, you will be Empress and Ruler of all Wutai. May your days be long and your rule be just." She offered him her hand, and he kissed it, as the rest of the clergy fell to one knee. She spoke quietly to the High Priest, then gestured for the clergy to rise.

Yuffie turned and smiled with tears in her eyes, the first of many that day, looking out at the crowd for a moment as they began to cheer.

"Step one," breathed Tifa, "only two more to go, Yufs."

"Ya mean we ain't _done_ yet? Dammit, I'm _hungry!"_ said Barrett. Marlene stomped on his foot.

"What's next, sweetie?" asked Cloud in Tifa's ear.

"Godo relinquishes the throne, and places the Empress' crown on her head," TIfa whispered, nodding her head towards the Emperor.

Yuffie walked to her father. For the next several minutes, father looked at daughter and vice versa, and it was like no one else existed. Godo rose from the throne, and took one of Yuffie's hands to assist her into it, effectively replacing him as leader. Yuri moved forward so that Godo could remove her crown from the pillow, then Yuri left the altar to take his place among the council.

Godo never took his eyes off of his daughter. He smiled warmly as he placed the delicate crown on her head, and he had to admit that it looked stunning with her short hair. She looked like a grown woman for the first time in her life.

"That was step two," whispered Tifa, holding Cloud's hand. The crowd got a little louder.

When Yuffie looked up at Godo with tears shining in her eyes, she was his little girl all over again. Not quite ready to let her go, he breathed a sigh of relief.

Suddenly, near the back of the assembly, a large group of people dressed in causal clothing stood up from where they had been sitting on the ground, and began to recite a chant of old, low and steady, and very somber – sounding very similar to a Mantra or a Vedic Hymn. Despite the noise level of the crowd it was easily heard throughout the assembly. Back up front in the section where the guests from Avalanche, the WRO and Shinra were seated, all heads except Tifa Lockheart's and Vincent Valentine's turned as one to the source of sound, perplexed as to what it was.

"Wow… They were _quick_. Step three," said Tifa quietly, getting misty herself. She gave Yuffie a thumb's up, and Yuffie smiled back at her from the altar, biting her lip shyly. "And _you_ are _in._ Way to go, girlfriend."

Reno glanced at Vincent, who was still focused on Yuffie.

"What are they doing – praying? Do you understand that stuff?"

"It's a chant in an ancient dialect of Wutai. I cannot speak or write it, but I know of this particular verse. The Legs and Arms of Wutai are showing their acceptance, and indeed their approval, of Kisaragi Yuffie as Empress. In fact, she cannot be fully seated on the throne unless they agree to it. It's a great honor."

"Uh…" cloud began, speaking for all of them. "Legs and Arms?"

Tifa giggled. Having spent so much time with Yuffie and her staff the last couple weeks, she had learned a great deal about Wutai and its traditions.

"It's another name for the farmers and ranchers. Remember, Wutai is still mostly pastoral with an agricultural-based economy, despite Godo's efforts to industrialize."

"Well, If they're that important, then that'll be good for Yuffie, right?" Reno asked. "I mean she's always on about restoring Wutai, but when she talks about a strong empire she means within traditions, not technology."

Vincent tried to ignore what he had said, but it was proof that Reno actually understood Yuffie's feelings more than just a little bit.

"Yep," Tifa agreed. "And from what I've seen since I've been here, the Arms and Legs love her for it. If these folks had rejected her as their leader, it'd be all over for the Kisaragi line. Their chanting says otherwise."

"Yes it does, and how wonderful for her!" Reeve cut in with his own opinion, and no one was surprised that he knew about the _Arms and Legs_ either. It was _Reeve_, after all, a Geek God if there ever was one. "I imagine that Yuffie has been holding her breath waiting for just this moment. Their approval matters more than the priests _or_ the council combined."

"I'm so happy for her! But… did I have that switched 'round wrong, Vince? I can't remember."

"Indeed, Tifa, although it impresses me that you know of it. It's the ranchers that are referred to as _'the legs that we stand upon',_ and the farmers that are called _'the arms that support us'. _While those are the traditional terms, these days they are just called Wutai's Arms and Legs – or Legs and Arms… It really depends upon which group you happen to be talking to. There is more than a little friendly competition between them."

Tifa laughed in agreement, and Cloud looked at her anew. She caught him gazing, and simply smiled back.

"Their chanting will go on for some time yet while she works her way through the assembly. Just _wait_ until you see what happens when she finally greets them," Reeve said, laughing. "I'm glad they let me have my camera for this. I want to make sure we have a permanent record of it."

"Blackmail material, Reeve? Really?" Tifa asked, teasing. Vincent openly smiled at their inside joke.

Tearing his eyes away from the mesmerizing chant, Reno looked back at Vincent, a bit perplexed. "How do you know so much about Wutai tradition, Valentine?"

Vincent smirked his tiny smirk, but refused eye contact. In fact, he hadn't taken his eyes off of Yuffie the entire time. "Simple. For every bar you _'hop'_, I read a book."

Reno smiled, shaking his head, and gave his attention back to Yuffie.

With the endorsement of the Arms and Legs, she was officially Empress of Wutai. It was time for her to greet her adoring crowd.

While her guests had been given an impromptu history lesson, Yuffie had extended a shaking hand to her father, and he took it fast, noting she was still trembling. He was sure it was not out of fear, she wasn't wearing _that_ face anymore, but rather she was a bit overwhelmed. He steadied her by first palming her hand, then kissing it formally. When Godo dropped to his knee and bowed to her, she lost a bit of her composure and some of tears she had been holding in slipped down her cheeks.

Godo got to his feet and grabbed her hands, getting her to stand with him. The crowd rose with her, continuing to express their happiness. Godo took his little girl in his arms, and kissed her forehead while hugging her tight. She sobbed just once, then whispered in his ear, "I wish Mama was here",to which he replied, "She is, you silly thing."

Yuffie laughed then, and leaned back in his arms. Father and daughter shared a few private words before they began the walk down the ancient stone steps and into the assembly, crowd still cheering.

They passed the council first, noting that only Chekov and Yuri had their hearts in their curtsy and bow. Yuffie and Godo looked warily at most of them. Godo smiled warmly at Chekov when she hugged the Empress, and Yuri blushed when Yuffie hugged him.

The military was next. Gorkii looked at her dispassionately as he bowed, which made Yuffie a bit upset. Staniv looked at her nervously, but he finally gave in and bowed deep, kissing her offered hand.

Beyond them stood General Ginto Shinshuro, the head of Wutai's army and a man long regarded as the military advisor to Wutai's royals. Tradition or not, he made himself welcome at every council meeting. He was a thin but powerfully built man in his fifties, with a face full of hard lines. His favorite thing to do in his free time was to read military autobiographies and sift through ancient scrolls on Wutai law. It was rumored that bachelor Shinshuro liked to have a few loose women around him on occasion as well.

It was also rumored that he was a silent supporter of the movement, but when asked at council meetings in _what_ capacity he actually supported them, he never really elaborated.

He looked Yuffie up and down, his eyes lingering a bit too long on her extremely short hair. As was her right, she did not extend her hand in return for the uninvited critique of her person. Shinshuro laughed a fake laugh and smiled an oily smile before giving Yuffie a shallow bow.

_Publicity stunt,_ thought Godo, frowning. _He's disgusting._ It was no secret that Godo Kisaragi had never trusted the man. He used to look at Yuffie's mother like that as well… _The son of a bitch is always assessing and categorizing. Yuffie's gonna have to keep a close eye on him._

Yuffie moved on quickly and smiled at the next group, Wutai's ninjas. They were separate from the military and steadfastly loyal to the blood royals and all their kin – of which, the only remaining two now stood before them. At their head was Shake, Yuffie's sensei in the ninja arts since she was a child and a man she had come to love as family. Behind him stood about fifty Wutains trained as deadly ninjas – women and men, in their prime, old, young – every one of them now at her beck and call.

Shake was in favor of following ancient traditions over the more modern ones, both in the dojo and at ceremonies. "Your Highness," he said, then he and every last one of the Wutai ninjas fell to their knees, _both_ of them, and bent forward until their foreheads were touching the ground. Yuffie teared up again, touched at their devotion.

Godo nudged her out of her reverie. Laughing, he said, "A _response _is needed, Empress."

"Oh! Yeah, um…" she quipped, flustered and blushing. "You efforts please us greatly," she said, remembering how her mother used to talk to the ninjas at ceremonies. Her sensei looked up, and she extended her hand to him. Shake rose, smiling, and the rest of them followed suit. He kissed her hand, and then gave it a squeeze when he winked at her.

Having finished with the priests, the council and that horrid _Shinshuro, _Shake had managed to give Yuffie her confidence back. She moved on to the next group and found herself face to face with all of Avalanche, including Nanaki, Shera, Marlene and Denzel; Reeve Tuesti, Shelke and a few other heads from the WRO; and Rufus Shinra, his glamorous date, and the Turks. They were all mixed up, sitting in no particular order, and she noted that Vincent was near the back. Standing next to him, oddly enough –

Reno winked at her when she finally made eye contact. _I'm getting a lot of winks from a lot of men,_ she thought, slightly dazed. It was the first time she'd seen him since their memorable tryst. She swallowed hard, as she was very happy to see him but she hoped his mouth had not gotten away from him where their night together was concerned, considering who was standing next to him.

Tifa smiled, and curtsied, perfectly as taught. Cloud bowed, low and stoic. Marlene's curtsy was perfect, a miniature version of Tifa's. Denzel blushed and bowed, avoiding eye contact. Nanaki sat before her, and lowered his head reverently. She reached out and touched his muzzle, and when he looked up, she was almost glowing with happiness. "Thank you _so much_ for being here, Red," she whispered.

Barrett bowed, and was about to kiss the hand she offered to him, but standing next to him was Cid Highwind who broke into manly tears and decided to ignore protocol. He grabbed the Empress and gave her a bear hug. Shake came forward slightly, but Yuffie waved him off, rolling her eyes. Cid sobbed something about how he _didn't know she was so grown up_ and _where's that dumb little kid that followed me around_. She looked over at Shera who was covering her face.

After freeing herself from the slobbering mess that was Cid, Rufus Shinra was next. His bow could not be beat, neither for elegance nor the sheer sexiness of it. _How in Hades does he __**do**__ that? _Yuffie thought. His date's curtsy made her look stupid, but Yuffie figured when you're that hot, no one really cares.

Reeve, Elena, Shelke, Tseng, all of them behaving proper and dignified.

And then, there _he_ was, her one-night conquest, in all his spikey red glory. Just before Yuffie got to Reeve, Tseng had muttered in his ear, "_Behave_ yourself. Or I'll _kill_ you."

Reno cleared his throat and smirked at Yuffie as she faced him, and she bit her lip in response, clearly trying not to laugh. She actually extended her hand to him, and even though the Emperor-Father Kisaragi Godo was glaring at Reno from behind Yuffie's back, the Turk took her hand graciously. To everyone's surprise, he didn't blurt out anything vulgar, in fact he didn't say a _word_, and bowed with the intent to plant a kiss on her knuckles. At the last minute, Yuffie yanked her hand away, and Reno glanced up at her, confused.

"_Psyche,"_ she whispered, grinning. When he smirked harder, she gave him back her hand, and he completed the kiss. She giggled and moved on.

"What?" Reno said to Tseng, who frowned at him. "That was _her_, not _me!"_

Vincent was last. She wondered if he had planned it that way, or he was just hiding in the back as he had wont to do. Godo caught his eye and nodded at him. The gunslinger nodded in kind, then looked to the Empress. He bowed low and respectfully, but unlike the others, he never took his eyes off of her face. She blushed and nodded, acknowledging his acceptance of her new role, and smiled down at him softly.

No kissing of the hand. Neither one of them could take that.

As Yuffie moved on, Tifa and Cloud had moved up next to Vincent. Tifa nudged him in the side ever so slightly, so that no one else saw it, save Cloud. Vincent smiled again, trying to keep his expression neutral.

"Glad you came?" muttered Cloud, and Vincent simply said "Hn."

Yuffie passed though random citizenry, accepting flowers and small gifts of tea and spices, some origami, inspecting each gift appreciatively before handing them over to an aide, and making small talk with as many of them as she could.

When she finally came to the farmers and ranchers, they were still chanting.

Reeve moved up quickly amongst his group to get a better angle, camera in hand.

"Reeve," Tifa whispered harshly, "I hope that thing is _quiet_. You _know_ what is about to–"

"Yes, yes," he hissed, interrupting her. "Every precaution."

Everyone looked at Tifa, who just smiled and put a finger over her lips to indicate they be quiet. She pointed at Yuffie.

Godo slipped back from Yuffie as she stood before them. The chanting grew louder and more intense, and the crowd suddenly fell silent, watching, listening.

Empress Yuffie, _not the Arms and Legs_, fell to her knees and bowed low before them, similar to Shake, all the way to the ground, her head to Gaia. As soon as she did that, Godo and everyone else in the assembly fell to the ground, bowing before the farmers and ranchers as well. Reeve positioned himself as best as he could while still maintaining propriety, gleefully recording every moment on his tiny digital camcorder.

Vincent reached up to drag Reno down, who was looking rather confused at that point, by clamping his human hand onto Reno's gray dress shirt. "The Empress bows, _you_ bow," he hissed.

"Okay, okay… But why is she doing this, Valentine?"

"Where you not paying attention to what Tifa said?" Vincent whispered harshly, trying to be heard over the loud chanting. "These people are the life blood of Wutai. As such, the newly crowned Empress will show her respect to them. It will never happen again during her rule, so consider yourself lucky to have seen a rare sight."

An elderly woman standing at the front of the Arms and Legs strode forward, her experience alone making her appear far more regal than Yuffie. She tapped the Empress gently on her bowed head, neatly avoiding the crown. Yuffie rose, and the old woman took one of her hands in her own. The crowd stood with Yuffie, many old knees protesting with creaks and pops that could not be muffled.

Tifa rolled her eyes as she helped Reeve to his feet, as he had stumbled while trying to rise and maintain his view in the camera at the same time.

The old woman smiled, and when she nodded to a little boy and girl near the front, they stepped forward and handed Yuffie two things; a sack of rice, and a newborn lamb. Once the Empress accepted these gifts, the chanting stopped abruptly.

"Empress Kisaragi," the woman said. Yuffie finally recognized her as the matriarch of a large farming family. Her voice was surprisingly strong as she continued, "The Arms and Legs of Wutai are here to serve your rule. May it be long and prosperous."

Fireworks went off, music began playing, and everyone started cheering again. Speechless at this point, Yuffie wavered on her feet. Godo stepped forward, linking her arm in his.

"Daddy," she said through her tears. "These people, all looking to me… I'm _scared_."

Godo hummed happily. "Of course you are. Only an idiot wouldn't be."

She gripped his arm a little tighter and looked at him, before saying, "I don't think I can do this."

Godo smiled at her, and every ounce of love he felt for his baby girl was showing in his eyes right at that moment.

"Daughter… I am not going anywhere just yet."

•

"Reeve, just what are you gonna do with that movie?" Tifa asked him bitterly.

"Oh, put it in the WRO archives, of course. It's the first known recorded evidence of Wutai's Arms and Legs being bowed to by the new monarch! And it's _all_ mine!"

Tifa cleared her throat. "So, you aren't going to use that as blackmail?"

Reeve looked at her, confused. "What? How?"

Cid piped in. "Jeez, Tuesti… what Tifa meant is that ya never see the likes of just plain ol' _Yuffie Kisaragi_ bowing down to people, either."

Reeve's eyes went glassy. "Ohh…"

"Lovely," said Cloud, with his usual monotone reaction. "You've just given him new ideas."

•

After she came back from changing into more modern clothes, Reno managed to find Yuffie without Godo hovering over her, and he gave her a hug.

"When you said you had important stuff to do in Wutai, I had no idea you meant you were _taking over_," he said in her ear, making her laugh.

"I'm sorry for being so cryptic. I wasn't really allowed to say too much to anyone," she said, pulling back.

"S'ok," Reno said as he kissed her cheek. "I'm happy for you, really."

"I guess," she began, kind of shy, "I'm kinda happy about some of it… now."

"These people _love_ you! You're gonna do great, Yufs."

She bobbed her head from side to side, unable to voice of her mixed feelings on the subject. "I'm no Godo," she simply said, sounding worried.

"You'll be a good leader to Wutai," a dark voice said, adding to Reno's praise, and Yuffie looked over the Turk's shoulder to see Vincent standing behind them. "Just give yourself some time."

She squeezed Reno's upper arm before extracting herself from his embrace. Moving towards Vincent, she smiled warmly and had to remind herself not to cry, even if it was from happiness.

Getting up on her toes, she hugged Vincent around the neck. "I am _so_ glad you came. Wouldn'ta been the same without you, Vince."

He hugged her back, more than a little glad that she was not still angry with him. "Thank you for inviting me. After the last time we saw each other–"

"Never mind that," she said, cutting him off, and stepped back a bit.

He looked her face over before saying. "You've cut your hair off."

"Uh.. Yeah." Yuffie fingered the fringe again in what had become a nervous habit. "I mean, Tifa trimmed it up for me this morning before the coronation, but yeah. I cut it all off a while ago. You… you didn't know that?"

"No, I didn't." Yuffie thought to file a complaint with Strife Delivery services before Vincent added, "I like it. It suits you. Brings out your eyes."

Reno had to bite his tongue before blurting out _hey pal that's exactly what __**I**__ said to her,_ and cleared his throat instead. Not having heard him, Yuffie watched Vincent's eyes as they slid to Reno, then she jumped.

"Oh! Yeah, Vince… You remember Reno."

"Yes. Yes I do."

Reno extended his hand. "Hello, Valentine. Long time no see."

_Not long enough,_ Vincent thought, and he heard Galian laughing deep inside.

"Indeed. I hope all is well with Shinra."

"Things'r well enough."

Vincent nodded, indicating he was done talking to the Turk.

"You're taking advantage of the guest rooms in the palace… right?" Yuffie asked him, sounding doubtful.

"Yes, along with all the rest of the people I came with, your staff has graciously set us up in our own rooms. Very lavish."

She nodded. "_Good_. I was afraid you'd run off right after the formalities. The truth is the party will go on into the night."

"I just wanted to take a moment to congratulate you personally, Yuffie. The ceremony was impressive, and I am glad Wutai is showing their favor towards you."

She grinned. "Thanks, Vincent." He nodded, and she hugged him again. "Try not to be a total stranger just 'cause I wear a crown now, huh?" she whispered, and his heart clenched. She was covering it well, but he still heard a tiny bit of anguish in Yuffie's voice.

Setting her onto her feet again, he promised, "Of course, Yuffie."

"I'll definitely see you later today?"

"You shall. But if you don't mind, right now I need to find something that Nanaki can eat." Vincent glanced at Reno one last time before leaving them there to catch up, and the Turk did not miss the warning in his red eyes.

"Shit," Reno finally said, praying that Vincent's enhanced ears were far enough away.

"What?"

"Valentine. He's jealous."

"Oh, he is not!"

"Oh yes he is."

Yuffie scoffed. She was not going there. Not again. Not even if someone else were to shove her. "You are _imagining_ things, Turk."

"Don't think so, but whatever. C'mon, let's get some grub. I'm starvin'!"

•

Wutai may have been known for it's agriculture and it's poetry-inspiring scenery, but one thing Yuffie's guests learned that day was that no one could surpass Wutai when it came to throwing a party.

The ceremony had taken place in the morning, so that the entire day could be spent partying. The usual things were there to be had – great food and plenty of it, a lot of alcohol, balloons, circus performers, live music, a dance floor with a DJ, speeches, streamers… even silly hats.

But being that Wutai _was_ agricultural, there was a bit more to be had.

For instance, when Godo and his childhood friend got together, a cattle rancher named Kai, they began drinking before lunch was even served. They drank. Then ate. Then drank some more. It was somehow decided that Yuffie's guests needed to witness a milking contest, so a large group piled onto chocobos and headed to Kai's ranch.

It had been a pretty nice gesture, because some of them had never seven _seen_ a cow before. But when the actual milking took place, it was a sight that greatly disturbed the men, especially Denzel. It didn't help matters that Godo and Kai, still plastered, were the ones pulling on the teats. Most of the milk landed everywhere but the bucket.

"You gotta understand," Yuffie said to the shocked faces surrounding her. "They grew up without television."

After that, Kai suggested they go cow tipping, and who was the Emperor-Father to deny his best friend a little fun? Cloud, Cid, Reno, Rufus and Reeve had brought their booze with them and they were now fully trashed, so they decided to join Godo and his buddy. Tifa and Shera were appalled, but Yuffie told them to just watch, because it was still early in the day and rancher Kai's cows were just grazing, not _sleeping_. She was dying to see how fast grown, drunk men could run away from angry bovine.

Turns out, pretty fast.

The farmers that had joined their little escapade were determined not to be outdone. They invited Yuffie's guests to ride to the nearest cornfield so that they could reveal just how crop circles were formed. Unfortunately, the drink was involved again, and they looked more like crop string theory models when they were finished.

Then they decided to combine the efforts of Wutai's Legs and Arms, and had a pumpkin-tossing contest – on chocobo-back.

Yuffie and the other women – and Vincent and Tseng, who had elected to stay sober – decided to return to the party in the courtyard before the crop-circle incident had taken place. But when the drunkards finally returned to the party, they decided to have a herding contest, just not with dogs and sheep. Drunk men were involved, again. Some of them got lucky, still more of them were told to get comfortable on the couch when they went home that night.

When the sun began to set, the bonfires were lit, and the drinking, dancing, eating, story-telling and laughing went on until after dark. All in all, it was a great success, mostly because the wet blankets left very early.

Apparently, base humor and frivolity was simply too far beneath the tastes of Ginto Shinshuro and his buddies.

•

Much later that night, Vincent was alone in his guest room in the palace, cleaned up for the night and reading in bed. He had been using the old novel in an attempt to try and distract himself from thinking about how beautiful Yuffie had looked during the ceremony, which wasn't really working, when Galian suddenly chimed in.

**Valentine. Something much larger than a bug is crawling around near your window.**

Vincent stiffened, wondering who on Gaia would be so stupid as to try and assassinate the Empress on such a night, with the entirety of Avalanche and the Turks under the same roof – not to mention the ninjas, who were clearly quite devoted to her.

The room was already dark, his enhanced senses ensuring he didn't need light to read, which gave him the advantage over the intruder. He tossed off the covers and silently moved to the window. He froze, waiting until whoever it was got close enough to the window frame.

**It's right below the sill.**

_I know. Shut up._

He moved like quicksilver, flinging the shutters open and reaching out and down to grab the person. Whoever he was, he was slight, short, and… smelled nice? A very feminine sounding yelp reached Vincent's ears, followed by a scraping noise as the person's sandaled feet slipped and scratched, desperately trying to regain footing against the traditional wood shingles of the palace. There was nowhere to go but down. Four stories.

After the yelp, _oh fuck me_ was the whisper that followed, but by that time Vincent already knew who it was. His heart skipped a beat when he realized Empress Yuffie Kisaragi was about to fall to her death, and the only advantage he had to stop that from happening was a semi-decent hold on her forearms under the dark silk of her kosode.

"_Yuffie!"_

"Fuckfuckfuckfuck –"

Vincent panicked. Gripping hard enough to cause her to cry out in pain, he yanked harder than necessary and pulled her into his room. A tiny tearing sound was heard, and they tumbled to the floor, rolling over each other until they slammed to a stop against the lacquered side of a small writing desk.

They both held their breath, and it was oddly quiet until Yuffie finally spoke.

"Ouch."

Suddenly angry that she'd be so foolhardy, Vincent frowned at her.

"_Lights."_

On the desk above them, a small lamp flickered on. Yuffie's frightened eyes stood out like dark violet jewels in the eye-slit on the black silk hood of her ninja uniform. Her body went rigid for a moment, like she was expecting to be slapped. Vincent yanked off the hood and tossed it aside.

When her eyes adjusted to the glare of the desk lamp above her, the newly appointed Empress of Wutai found that she was looking up at a very pissed off Vincent Valentine, who was lying on top of her. Their legs had gotten tangled in the tumble to the floor, and her gloved hands were still clinging tightly to the thin material of his t-shirt.

Staring into the other's face, they were breathing heavily and clearly confused as to how they wound up where they were. Yuffie frowned, finally, and Vincent realized he might be crushing her. He rolled off of her and sat up, and her hands went slack as his shirt slipped out of her grip. Before he stood, he saw something shiny on the floor scattered in the path they had rolled. Whatever it was must've fallen out of one of the pockets in Yuffie's ninja uniform. He turned to look, fully intending to help her gather her things up – _knowing her, it's probably shuriken… or __**candy**_– then he froze when he recognized, faintly, several individually wrapped condoms, and a small tube of…

_Oh Shiva's tits._

Vincent clenched his eyes shut and refused – _refused –_ to react.

"Oopsie," Yuffie muttered, and when he turned back to face her, she was sitting up and staring at the condoms with an intentionally vacuous expression. She looked at him and shrugged, grinning painfully.

Vincent rose carefully, and went to extend his hand to her, but she had already crawled past him and began scooping up her personal items. When she finally stood up, Vincent looked at her, confused and speechless. Yuffie stuffed her things in some hidden pocket, then tugged on her hakama and straightened her kosode. She smiled again, a useless attempt to try and keep things casual.

He had very different ideas. Vincent Valentine respectfully fell to one knee before her. "Empress," he said quietly, lowering his gaze.

Yuffie's eyes bugged out.

_Are you fucking kidding me?_

"Vinnie… what're you doin'?"

"I am a visitor in your palace. This is an awkward situation. I am trying to stay within protocol."

She strode past him and smacked him on the back of his head, although she didn't hit him very hard.

"Well quit it. Yer giving me the willies." Yuffie plopped herself into the oversized chair next to his bed and examined the small rip in her kosode. "Dammit," she muttered, "Shake's gonna _kill _me. That's the second set of silks this week." Vincent stood up and faced her, crossing his arms. She looked him up and down. "Nice jammies," she teased saucily.

He wore a tight short-sleeved black t-shirt, which looked great on him… but it was the loose black sweats clinging desperately to his hips that she couldn't stop staring at.

_For the love of Leviathan. He's got **perfect** fucking V cuts. _

Arms, hand, claw, belly button, feet, neck – all were exposed now, showing more pale flesh and sinew than she considered reasonable for a man who simply wasn't interested in her. That wild black mane of his was pulled up into a high ponytail, a practical style for sleeping that she'd used herself when her hair was that long. It gave her a very clean view of his very beautiful face.

_Oh dear gods. _Yuffie lowered her eyes, trying not to stare at his pretty face, but she wound up staring at his flawless belly button instead… and the sparse, silky black trail that cascaded below it, politely disappearing into the sweats. She swallowed hard.

_What the fuck was I doing, again?_

"What were you doing?" His hard voice cut through her thoughts and she jerked, looking back at his face. For a moment she was scared he could read her mind. "Are you trying to get yourself killed before your first real day on the throne?"

"Hey, _you_ grabbed and I slipped, that's all. Shit happens."

"You're clumsy, but I don't recall that happening to you when it really counted. For instance, when you are _scaling high walls_," he said, pointing to the window. She balked, then thought better of it and swallowed her witty retort. "Your great ninja skills are getting rusty, Yuffie."

Vincent regretted it the moment it came out of his mouth. _"I know that!"_ she shouted back angrily, fists clenched.

He sighed. "I… I wasn't trying to humiliate you. I'm just trying to point out that you have different priorities now… If your physical prowess is waning–" He closed his eyes and tried to stop thinking about how she nearly fell to her death less than five minutes ago.

Then again, she had probably been doing just fine until _he_ went and interrupted her. Conveniently ignoring the fact that her near-death had mostly been his fault, he continued.

"Maybe you should get used to using doors and hallways a little more."

She looked away from him, a blush creeping up her neck and into her face. He became instantly suspicious.

"_Yuffie."_

"Actually… I can't use the hallways for this. I can't be seen. I was… sorta… _sneakingintorenosroom."_

There was a moment, very briefly, where she saw his nostrils flare.

"I know I am going to regret asking this, but for what reason?" he fairly seethed.

"Uh… a little post-coronation nookie?" She smiled at him innocently.

He palmed his face.

_Life was peaceful… in the coffin…_

**Don't even think about it, Valentine.**

"What will it take for you to leave my room right now, Empress? Through the _door?"_ He was mad, sure, but he definitely didn't want her getting busted up. Or worse.

Yuffie picked up on Vincent's discomfort immediately. Four years of her life had been spent waiting for a response from him regarding her feelings, and she wound up with a handful of words on Tifa's back porch that had amounted to 'move on'. After that day, she promised herself that should Vincent Valentine ever criticize her choices regarding men, dating, or sex, she'd skewer him using his own embarrassment as the weapon.

"Gosh. You seem disturbed. Is it that I'm fucking Reno, or that I'm simply gettin' me some?"

"I have no opinion on your sex life."

"Oh. Yeah. I gotcha… You don't care what I'm doing, including the idiotic way I'm doing it?"She waited a beat, then gave him an oily smile that did not reach her eyes.

"I knew, someday, you'd use those words against me. I'd have gutted Corneo and cut you down myself if I'd known what you were really trying to accomplish with our materia. How many times do I have to tell you that?"

"An _incalculable_ number." She grinned, but this time she meant it. "Oh, and let's not forget that the people who did actually rescue me from Mister Corny Toes were, in fact, Rude… and _Reno_."

Vincent bristled.

She got up to leave, all chipper and bright. "Well, I must be off! I have a _man_ waiting." Smiling at him, she tugged and checked her gloves. She balled a fist onto her tiny hip with one hand and wagged a finger at him with the other. "Now don't you worry, Vinnie. You've given me a good scare tonight and I _will_ be Super-Ninja as I complete my mission!"

Yuffie moved around him nonchalantly and picked her silk hood up from the floor. She stuffed it into a pocket in her kosode. He couldn't stop himself from wondering if it was the same pocket she had those condoms in.

Strolling to the window, she had the gall to hum, pissing him off further. Then he found himself holding his breath as he watched her climb out.

_Don't fall don't fall don't fall I really don't want to be the one who has to save your bratty ass tonight don't fall…_

Hanging onto the window frame, Yuffie popped her head back into his room for one final barb.

"Uh, Vincent?"

"…"

"You might wanna go for a walk or something… Our guest rooms are more modern than the royal suites, but they ain't exactly soundproof."

There was a pause, then she got a tight, clipped answer. "I'll keep that in mind, _your highness."_

She grinned at him, then made a determined retreat, clinging to the outside of the palace like a real fucking ninja this time.

Galian howled with laughter.

**You wanna take a breath now, or shall we pass out right here on the floor?**

•

Reno paused, taking a much-needed gulp of air after kissing Yuffie deeply.

"Yufs, I have to tell you something–"

She cut his words off as she yanked on his t-shirt and pulled him in for another searing kiss. Reno sank into her mouth, wanting nothing more than to get naked with her and break the bed frame, but he tore his lips away from hers and tried again.

"Yuffie – _listen. _I'd like to leave Wutai tomorrow morning with my tender bits _intact_, okay?" He laughed quietly.

"Oh, Godo wouldn't do that! He likes you… well enough."

Reno smirked down at her. Gently taking the sides of her face in his hands, he lowered his voice. "I wasn't talking about your pops. I was talking about what Valentine would like to do to me."

She frowned, or at least tried to. "Like I said, you're imagining things. Can we please make out now? I've been thinking about this since that night." She pouted, sticking her lower lip out dramatically while she held his wrists in her curled fingers, keeping him close.

"Really?" he asked, trying not to gloat.

Yuffie rolled her eyes. "Tell me you haven't! _Please_."

He giggled, gleefully whispering to her. "Gods, I've _missed_ you!"

Reno kissed her again, long and languid, then he trailed his lips across her cheek until he got to her earlobe. Sucking on it gently, his warm breath blew across her ear, and Yuffie's knees went weak.

•

As the evening wore on, Vincent was glad that his bed was situated opposite the wall next to Reno's room and up against the wall next to Cid's. The pilot's snores were drowning out the noises coming from the other room.

**You have real estate in Denialville, Valentine.**

The truth was, he had to force himself to ignore them, as his enhanced hearing was picking up every vulgar remark Reno said, every tiny giggle out of Yuffie's mouth, and all those various _noises _they were spewing.

It was an annoying situation, yes, and if that was all there was to it he would tolerate it. Unfortunately, spoken claims of honest affection were making their way into the lover's tryst. Neither one was going so far as to say 'I love you' or 'marry me', but still. This seemed to bother Vincent much more than the fact that Yuffie was having sex in the room next to him. The Galian Beast picked up that juicy bone and _ran_.

**Of the veritable _litany _of human emotions you've allowed me to observe, jealousy is by far the most ugly. **

Now he had to ignore Galian. And the _noises_.

**The most amusing aspect of this for me is that you have no _right_ to be jealous. **

Vincent groaned. Who was he kidding? He couldn't ignore Galian. _Or the noises._

**It was you who missed out on her, after all. You are the one who told her she should put a relationship with you out of her mind and find another to be with.**

"Yes," Vincent hissed dangerously, "Just not with _him."_

**Ah. So you think you have the right to approve of her choices in that regard. Telling, that.**

Disgusted, Vincent shoved the covers off of his body for the second time that evening. He dressed himself in record time and grabbed the novel, just to have an excuse in his clawed hand. He stomped to the door of his suite, heading down to the palace library where he knew Nanaki was surely poking his nose around.

•

"Good heavens, Vincent. Why are you up this late?" Nanaki yawned, twitching his tail.

"Can't sleep," he started, with the intent to mention something about his noisy neighbors, but luckily Vincent noticed the Emperor-Father sitting in a chair by the fire before he said anything further.

"Which room are you in?" Godo demanded. "Isn't that damn Turk next to you?"

"I'm not sure," Vincent answered. He didn't give a damn about Reno's fate, but he quickly decided diverting Godo's attention was the kindest thing to do for Yuffie. "To be honest, Sir, I don't require as much sleep as most people."

The diversion worked, and Vincent managed to join their conversation concerning the _movement_. He got an earful about the current political climate in Wutai, which did nothing to improve his mood, as he could now add _worry_ to the pile of feelings he was collecting regarding Yuffie.

After an hour or so of discussion Godo started lagging, which sobered Vincent up. Since his arrival in Wutai the day before it was the first time he remembered that the Emperor was actually quite ill.

"Well, it's very late, and it's time for this old man to get some shut-eye." Godo stood, and Vincent and Nanaki rose as well, Vincent bowing to Godo. "I've always liked you, Mr. Valentine," Godo said, narrowing his eyes at the gunslinger. "It's too bad you are not Wutai."

With that, Godo turned on his heel and left them alone in the library.

Vincent frowned. "What did he mean by that, do you think?"

"Oh… it was just something the Emperor-Father and I were talking about before you showed up."

Nanaki didn't elaborate any further, and Vincent was too stressed to push it.

•

At a little after five in the morning, Yuffie was making her way back to her private room, still not by way of the doors and hallways. She made sure to stay extra-quiet as she crawled past Vincent's window, but as it turned out he wasn't even in his room.

Scowling hard at this discovery, Yuffie plodded on, scaling her way across the palace walls back to the window of her room, where she had left it cracked open in anticipation of her return.

She nearly jumped out of her silks when she saw Shake standing in the middle of her bedroom, arms crossed and face stormy.

"Leviathan's _teeth,_ sensei! What the hell?"

"I don't give a damn what you get up to with your boyfriend back there. That's between you and him. But your ninja is weak, my dear Empress, and _I'll not have that."_ He uncrossed his arms, and pointed at her. "Dojo, you, me, tonight. Be prepared to ache."

He turned and melted out of her sight as silent as smoke.

"Aw, _shit_," Yuffie blurted, collapsing onto her bed. She loved her sensei, but he was like a whip on her back sometimes. At least when Godo was angry at her, she knew how to tug on his heartstrings. Shake didn't really _have_ any of those.

•

_tbc_

•

++++++++ _notes ++++++++_

I used the United Kingdom's Coronation Oath (as found on Wikipedia; apologies if it in incorrect) as a model for Yuffie's Coronation scene.

Apologies also to animal lovers everywhere. I am one, too, and I would _never_ tip a cow. But country boys get strange ideas when they are drunk. Still, take a trip to straightdope dot com and type in their search field: is-there-really-such-a-thing-as-cow-tipping

"you wouldn't know he and his fellow frat rats really were looking for the sheep."

I laughed so hard I hiccupped.

In any case... I'd love more reviews. They make me want to type, hint, hint. So if you read it, please review it. Thanks!


	4. Chapter 4

• **Square Enix owns all of these toys. I spent money to learn about them, I earn no money in borrowing them.**

• **Rated M. **

• **Flying beta-less. Forgive the typos.**

•

**Empress & Concubine**

**Chapter Four**

Birthday Presents & Silent Confessions

•

Vincent had decided to hide in his cabin on the Shera shortly after the conversation with Nanaki and Godo had come to an end. He headed back up to his guest room in the palace to grab his things, fully expecting to hear his noisy neighbors still going at it. But the only thing he heard coming from Reno's room was two distinct, even breathing patterns, which indicated the room's occupants had fallen asleep. It was likely safe to stay put until morning, but the fact that they were still there_, _next to him, and _together_… this was eating away at him. He considered himself fortunate that Galian had decided to keep his opinion to himself on his host's current emotional state, but he wasn't about to stay put in that room, either.

He grabbed his gear and headed for the Shera, logged himself back into the ship's manifest, and barricaded himself in his quarters.

No one came looking for him all morning, even after the ship left Wutai and landed at several destinations, dropping off everyone from Barret to Reeve. When the airship began heading in the direction of Cosmo Canyon, Vincent took advantage of the shower in his bathroom, then got his pack in order and headed for the loading deck, intending to sneak out before anyone could force him into a farewell conversation.

Unfortunately when he got there, he wasn't alone. He felt Cid's eyes on him as soon as he walked past the pilot.

"Hey, stranger! _Finally. _We're at Cosmo Canyon now. Droppin' off Nanaki."

Vincent moved to mouth of the deck, shouldering his pack. "I know where we are."

Cid frowned at the man's back. "Uh, okay… Well, ya didn't put yer destination down in the ship's manifest when you clocked in at–" Cid checked the screen on the ship's computer with a dramatic flair, then squinted in disbelief. "Four tweny-fuckin-seven a.m.? _Hello. _Whassa matter, Vince? You don't like sleepin' on a nice fluffy bed in a royal palace?"

Vincent elected to ignore the crass, nosy pilot, but managed to throw a warning glance his way. Cid got the hint.

"All right, all right. So where can I take you?"

"There is no need, I'll be staying with Nanaki for a while."

Cid paused again, as Vincent strode out onto the deck.

"Vincent."

_Oh, here it comes. Not Cid too._

The gunslinger stopped and turned, and looked at Cid a long time before saying, "Yes?"

"If yer fixin' to go and fall off the face of Gaia again… Just don't forget you got people who care about you."

"I know that, Cid."

"…Yuffie bein' one of 'em."

He didn't answer. Cid shook his head, sighing. The pilot cleared his throat, and spoke louder than necessary. "Well, I got to get goin'! Stuff to do! Lots of _stuff_. Ya'll gonna get off yer mangy ass offa my ship already, or _what?"_

"Hn."

Vincent turned and jumped the rail, hitting the dusty ground below with a soft thud. He was determined to catch up to Nanaki, because he wasn't yet aware he was going to have Vincent's company for the next several weeks.

•

"Oh, by the way… I ran into Godo on the way up here."

Yuffie narrowed her eyes at Reno. "And?"

"He asked me to remind you that making as much noise in the wee hours of the morning as we made last Thursday is _not discreet_ and violates _the agreement._" Reno snickered, tossing himself onto a couch.

It was now several weeks since Yuffie had been crowned Empress, and Reno's visits to the palace had become both commonplace and a well-kept secret. The guest room he stayed in was littered with his toiletries and clothes, as he had quit taking his things back and forth and just left them there for the next time he showed up.

"Oh, and you have a meeting with the royal architects tomorrow morning, so _do not be late._"

"The _hell_, Reno? Are you his damn secretary now, or what?"

"Hey – he talks nice to me now, and that's good enough. It's so much better than being caught between my extreme desire to fuck you senseless and having the parts necessary to do just that torn off by your scary, scary father. Your old man's cool, and I like him."

"Oh great, you're _buds_ now."

He smiled at her. Crossing his arms behind his head, Reno gazed at her embroidered kimono. "I like that color on you, Yuffs."

"Yeah?" She touched the lavender-colored silk, running a fingertip over the dark blue embroidery on the sleeve, an elaborate design of leaves and branches. "This was one of Mama's."

There was a tinge of sadness in her voice. For reasons that Reno didn't want to think about, he both hated and loved the fact that he could already determine her moods very easily.

"It goes perfect with your eyes. Now take it off and come over here."

•

Vincent tossed another log on the fire. He was poking at the embers when he heard Nanaki saunter up behind him.

"It's a beautiful night, isn't it?" Nanaki lay down on the ground in front of the fire pit, a few feet away from Vincent. "Perfect for stargazing," he said, looking up at the twinkling lights in the clear sky.

Vincent smiled as he continued to poke the logs in the fire. "Do you think I should be moving on," he muttered, although it wasn't a question.

"I never said any such thing," Nanaki's voice had an amused tone to it. "But if _you_ think it is time for you to leave, I will not be offended."

"Hn."

They sat in silence for a long time before Vincent spoke again.

"I am aging. I can feel it now."

Nanaki looked back at his friend. "Is that what's been bothering you all this time?"

Vincent frowned. "Many things are bothering me, I'm afraid. But I am sorry that I will not be there for you as I promised. I'm going to age and die like everyone else, and I will not be here to talk with you as I said I would."

"Well… you're talking to me right _now_, Vincent." Nanaki's tail switched back and forth, his eyes glittering. "Your situation has changed, and I don't measure the value of your friendship based on that," he said quietly. "If I _do _outlive you, I will definitely miss your company when you are gone. But you should know that I am not frightened anymore."

Vincent nodded, but stayed silent.

It had been good for him, coming to stay in Cosmo Canyon. He'd had time to think about what had happened with Yuffie. Sharing some of that with Nanaki had helped him to understand his own feelings a little better.

"You aren't going to completely ignore the Empress now, are you?"

Vincent smiled. It was safe to let his emotions show in the dark.

"I do not know. The truth is, I am sorry that I was not brave enough to try and have a proper relationship with her earlier… but it is too late now. She's learning how to run her country. She has enough going on without _me_ adding to the list of concerns."

"I don't think Yuffie sees you as a _concern_, Vincent."

The gunslinger sighed. "Perhaps not, but she's with someone else now."

Nanaki stared at him for a bit, then got up. "Wait here a moment, will you?"

Vincent nodded as the beast moved past him. Nanaki was gone for some time, and when he returned, he was carrying a cardboard box in his mouth. Setting the package down next to Vincent, he returned to his spot by the fire.

"That is from Cloud. It arrived here a week or so after the coronation. I was told to give it to you when you could freely admit to yourself that your feelings for Yuffie go further than just friendship." The beast stretched, sprawling onto his side and lazily flexing his claws in the firelight. He closed his eyes and yawned before saying, "I do not know what is inside the box, but it smells just like the Empress."

Nanaki began to doze, so Vincent quietly opened the box. Inside was a coil of thick, dark braided hair, held together at either end with green elastic hair bands. Even if he didn't recognize the color and texture of the hair, even if he hadn't gone to the coronation and seen Yuffie's new hairstyle for himself, he would have known it was hers because her scent was all over it, and his nose was just as sensitive as Nanaki's.

Underneath Yuffie's hair was a sealed envelope with his name written on it. He recognized the distinct, clipped style of Cloud's handwriting. Grateful for the privacy afforded by the Canyon's remote location, he opened the envelope and removed the note.

_Vincent,_

_Yuffie asked Tifa to have me throw this at you out of spite after our gathering last July. The Princess was ticked off. Tifa was pissed too. But we decided to wait. _

_I saw you watching Yuffie and Reno at the coronation. Don't get bent out of shape about that rooster. Whatever it is that they are doing together, Tifa says they're still just friends. _

_Empress or not, Yuffie's still got it bad for you even if things are a lot more complicated for her now. But if you manage to get another chance, do NOT pass her up this time, you idiot._

_C._

Vincent smiled. The deeply personal nature of the note should have been enough to cause him to seek solace in Shinra Mansion, but surprisingly he felt no compulsion to run. Part of him felt horrified that their argument had been a factor in Yuffie's impulse to cur her hair off. He knew she was secretly proud of herself for growing it out. Yet another part of him, a bigger part, felt a certain gratification. A very _masculine_ gratification. The fact that she wanted to throw her clippings at him was proof that her feelings were as strong as she had claimed.

The girl was pretty, talented, and determined. Dating Yuffie might not have been such a bad idea after all.

He read the note over a couple more times just to be sure he was reading it correctly. Cloud was in favor of the idea. So was Tifa. He wasn't all that happy that they knew so much about his personal business, but at least they were two of the most trustworthy people he had ever met. Between them and Nanaki, he had no doubt that his feelings concerning Yuffie would be respected.

At the very least, Cid hadn't been involved. That would have been an embarrassing disaster of epic proportions.

"Pleasant news, I trust?" Nanaki's good eye opened, a bright slit in the darkness.

"Why do you ask?"

The beast sniffed the air and licked his lips. He closed his eye again. "You smell happy."

"Hn." Vincent touched the glossy braid, running his fingertip over the sections.

"Her surprise birthday party is in three weeks."

"Indeed it is."

"You _will_ be there, yes?"

"I will."

"Yuffie does not like to flaunt her status in front of her people, so we are all supposed to bring 'cheap' presents. That was the rule set forth in the invitation I got from Councilwoman Chekov." Nanaki sighed. "I simply have no idea what to get her."

Vincent paused at that. It suddenly occurred to him what he could get her. It was the perfect idea, and no one else could possibly get her the same thing. But it certainly wouldn't be cheap, so he'd just have to sneak it in when Chekov and the others weren't looking.

"I will stay and help you find something personal that she will appreciate. After that I have to go back to Nibelheim for a short time."

"Oh?" Nanaki yawned again, sleep not far off. "Will you arrange transportation for me when the time comes?"

"Of course," Vincent said. "I look forward to it."

"I hope they don't get drunk and aggravate farm animals at her party. That was embarrassing…"

Vincent smiled. "Get some sleep, Nanaki."

•

As she was now Empress, Yuffie knew that a party for her twenty-third birthday was in the works, but no one was acting like they remembered, so it was probably going to be of the 'surprise' variety. She missed her friends, and wished they could be there, but whatever her father and Chekov had planned she would appreciate it.

There were many things about her new life that she liked. Godo and her private staff kept her sane and happy. Reno provided the most satisfying form of stress relief, even though his visits were becoming less frequent. It was clear his shoulder (as well as the rest of him) was always available to her, and the two of them knew they were going to be friends for life. The High Priest visited often, and had proven himself to be an excellent and reliable confessor. She had never given much thought to the clergy before, but had come to appreciate all the things they did for Wutai's people.

Yuffie spent as much time as she could visiting people's homes, farms, ranches and shops. The people certainly saw her as their Empress, but she never stopped emphasizing equality, so they did not see her as an elitist. Because of that they felt free enough to give her their honest opinion about Wutai's future, which was exactly what she wanted.

The amount of time she got to spend in the dojo with Shake was not what either of them had hoped for, and her ninja skills were clearly getting weaker. But they both knew that her responsibilities had changed dramatically. The important thing was the confidence she had in Shake and his ninjas. Every last one of them had her back. They were constantly near – never seen, silently watching over her.

But the bad parts were _really _bad, especially for a girl like Yuffie. Being Empress was stressful and tiring. Council meetings were long and far too frequent. Godo was still present at them, which she was thankful for, even when they disagreed on an issue.

But, despite the fact that she was learning how to hold her own at the meetings, she did not feel as though the council respected her opinion. Her time spent talking with Wutai's citizens had given her some good ideas for local resolutions, but the Council was still consistently deferring to her father. Dinner parties for foreign dignitaries were held twice a month, and she had to dress up in traditional formalwear for them. She wore her canvas shorts under the kimonos just as a reminder of who she really was deep down, and she had actually grown to like the tabi socks… but the geta sandals were something she'd learned to hate.

"They're too hard, they have zero traction, and shit are they ever _noisy,_" she'd said to Shake once. "Clackity-clack-clack! _Everyone_ can hear where I'm going."

"So I take it that's why you don't wear them when Reno visits?"

She was getting used to Shake's teasing. Not to mention the things that popped out of Godo's mouth. She never knew her father had such a liberal attitude towards sex, but at least he was treating her like a grown-up in that respect. As Empress, she wasn't really supposed to be involved in that kind of relationship, but since Reno's visits kept her smiling, no one was stopping him from seeing her, either.

The worst part of her new role was forcing herself to tamp down the wanderlust that still tugged at her heart. She never realized how strong the lure was until she had to consistently say 'no' to it.

•

They surprised her on November 18th, two days before her birthday, and it turned out she _was_ shocked. Everyone that she had invited to the coronation had also been invited to her party, and they all showed up. She tried not to cry, but she'd missed them all so much she couldn't help herself.

Tifa was six months along and looked amazing. Cloud was trying not to show his excitement. Cid and Shera were _thinking_ about having a baby. Marlene actually brought a date, much to Barret's discomfort. Tseng and Elena had gotten married. Denzel was now taller than Yuffie. Rufus and Reeve discussed how they were continuing to merge the efforts of Shinra and the WRO to the point where Yuffie asked them what _else_ they were merging, which drew a lot of laughs. Shelke didn't even crack a smile, proving she was the same as ever.

The clergy and all of the ninjas were there, but only a few members of council came. No one from Wutai's military had shown up, and thankfully, neither had Ginto Shinshuro.

Throughout the day, Wutai's citizens were free to attend, offering her traditional presents and giving her their well-wishes. She took the time to chat with everyone, and made sure they were all taken care of.

Dinner was finally served – salads, cheeseburgers and fries, per the official request of the Empress. Every last bit of the food came from the efforts of Wutai's Arms and Legs. Even the booze was local, and it flowed freely once again.

Reno was sitting next to Yuffie at her table, and she was stuffing the last bit of her cheeseburger into her mouth, looking very little like a royal, when he nearly made her choke on her food.

"I think Valentine wants me dead again."

"Oh, shut the fuck up," she tried to say around a mouthful of food. Swallowing hard, she frowned at him.

"No, seriously. He's having trouble taking his eyes off of you."

Yuffie looked over at Vincent's table briefly, but he was not looking back. She turned back to Reno and scoffed.

"You are totally imagining things."

"No. I'm not. Look, it ain't jealousy if that's what you're thinking. You have never once said his name in bed – in fact I'm pretty sure you aren't thinking about him at all when you are with me."

"I would never do that to you," she said quietly. Reno turned his gaze from Vincent back to Yuffie at the sound of her voice. She was being totally sincere and it caught him off guard. "You know I love you."

He grinned. "Yeah. Me too. But I am _not_ imagining things."

"Reno," she seethed, pulling his arm to get him to face her. Her nose was scant inches from his, and she spoke through her teeth. He had the gall to smirk at her. "Yes. I am probably still in love with Vincent Valentine, but–"

"_Probably?_ Hah! Get real, babe. You worship his dark studlyed leatherness from afar."

"Gag. Me."

"Okay. Yeah that was gross. My point is that I _know_ you are still in love with him and I really do wish things were different for you. For _both_ of you. But, since they aren't…" he trailed off, leering at the edges of her kimono.

She narrowed her eyes at his flagrant familiarity, despite the heat coloring her cheeks. Reno raised an eyebrow at her, questioning her own motives, and she licked her lips.

"Ahh… So, you _aren't_ totally dumping me yet?"

"_Reno_. I, like every other Gaia-fettered goddess, expect fabulous sex for my birthday. Do not leave Wutai until you have fulfilled your duties as my concubine or I'll have you beheaded, Turk."

"Sure thing, sweet cheeks," he drawled, getting up and sauntering away from her rudely, heading straight for the bar.

_He just never changes,_ she thought, smiling.

The party wore on, but showed no signs of slowing down. Dinner had been served buffet style, with the royals and their guests going first, but there were so many people in attendance some were just starting to eat after others had already finished their dessert. Yuffie impressed everyone by waiting with dignified patience to open her presents until every last guest had their after-dinner drink in hand.

They were all simple or sentimental gifts just as Chekov had requested. Cid gave her one of his tattered old pilot jackets, patches and all. Tifa wrapped Yuffie's favorite drinking glass in her favorite place mat, both from Seventh Heaven. Cloud gave her materia, as expected, but he made sure it was fairly useless.

Shake presented her with a new set of silks, and while they were not ninja black they were her favorite dark green. His gift was also a not-so-subtle hint to everyone else that he expected Yuffie to get back into the dojo more often, and they needed to respect that by not monopolizing all of her time.

Nanaki gave her a mineral rock from Cosmo Canyon which Vincent had helped him find. When he left for Nibelheim, he took it with him and had it cut and polished while he was there. It wasn't a rare mineral, but it was beautiful – dark, translucent yellow with flecks of bright violet in the center.

Reno got her a solid chocolate tiara with pink and green candy-covered nuts posing as crown jewels. He also got her some raspberry-flavored edible underwear to go with it, but that was a gift he could give her later, when he was fulfilling his duties as her concubine.

When she got to the last gift on the pile, she got to the only person who had broken the rule of cheap presents. Rufus Shinra offered her the opportunity to use Shinra's environmental cleaning services for free. Technically it was a gift to the whole of Wutai, so he wasn't really breaking Chekov's rules. Yuffie's continent still had veritable tons of scrap metal and broken machinery leftover from the invasions of many a previous war, dumped in several acres of flat land that used to be used for farming. Everyone wanted it out, but Wutai just didn't have the resources to get it done. Yuffie's eyes got as big as saucers when Rufus made the offer, and she said "Yes, yes and _yes!" _to him. He smiled at her, then at her father, who nodded respectfully. Wutai needed the help and they were all just going to have to get used to it coming from places like Shinra.

An hour after that, the sun was low in the sky but the dancing and drinking were still going strong. Reno tried to find the Empress for a quick spin, but she had apparently left the dance floor. Eventually he spotted Yuffie sitting on a bench at the edge of the veranda, looking a bit tired. Vincent Valentine was standing in front of her. They were alone, and the gunslinger was holding a wrapped present in that damn shiny gauntlet.

_I **knew** it!_

The Turk ducked behind a statue of Leviathan and proceeded to spy on them, when he suddenly felt the large palm of Godo Kisaragi clamp onto his shoulder. Startled, Reno jumped, which pleased the Emperor-father greatly. Reno shushed him and pointed a finger at Yuffie and Vincent. Looking where Reno indicated, Godo smiled.

Reno was still going to be Yuffie's personal freak for as long as she wanted him to, but if Vincent had finally decided to show some sign of wanting to be more-than-friends with her, he wouldn't get in the gunslinger's way.

Well.

_Much_.

They saw Vincent lean in and down slightly while talking to her, an obvious grasp for privacy. She was smiling and nodding at him. Satisfied, Reno and Godo shared a knowing smirk and finally turned away from the scene, heading for the bar together.

•

"Yuffie, may I have a word? In private?"

"Well, sure," she smiled, nodding up at him as he leaned in to speak to her. She glanced at the present in the crook of his arm, but didn't say anything about it. "We can go into the courtyard, in the Royal garden if you like? It's really nice right now, with the leaves flying all over the place."

"That would be fine."

She led him away from the noise of the veranda on a path that led to a large sprawl of ornamental trees and flowers native to Wutai, all very old and well established. The 'garden' was more like a forest; it was much larger than the view from the veranda had led him to believe. Vincent followed Yuffie closely. He was amazed at how many turns she had him take; it became clear to him that this was a place she had either memorized since her coronation, or played in religiously as a child. They were finally in the main courtyard, completely out of sight of the crowd on the veranda.

It was a circular courtyard, looking more like a living mandala than just part of a garden. She had spoke the truth, it was beautiful, and bursting with autumn activity. There were birds foraging and fussing everywhere in the light of the setting sun. Leaves of red and gold stubbornly clung to their last moments before drifting down to the ground. Ancient stone pavers wound a path throughout, with benches randomly placed for reflection or quiet conversation. Silent stone deities speckled with moss watched over the human visitors, on guard forevermore.

In the very center was a table carved from the same stone it was sitting on, flanked by two elaborate wrought-iron chairs. Yuffie paused to gaze at the setting, though her body language told Vincent they were absolutely not going to use it. He had no idea what it meant to her but it was obviously special and private, and he didn't dare ask. Her line of sight drifted up to an old, twisted maple tree behind the table and chairs, framing them perfectly. She looked at it as though greeting a dear friend before turning to face him.

"I'm glad to see you again, Vinnie."

"As am I. Your new job going well, I hope?"

She rolled her eyes as an answer, and he laughed quietly.

"Is that for me?" she asked, greedy stars in her eyes as she pointed at the festively wrapped box in his hands, which was about the size of a cake box.

"Yes. I thought better of giving you your present in front of everyone. There would be questions that… Well, it appears I broke the rules. You will see why when you open it."

"Ah – _Finally!"_ she exclaimed joyously. "Somebody got me something _expensive!_" Vincent laughed his tiny little laugh, pleased by the light in her eyes. "Well, let's see… it's kinda big. So it isn't materia. Or jewelry."

"You've accumulated enough of the one. And you've never expressed want of the other. Here – sit down," he requested, gently leading her by her elbow to a bench away from the center. He stood before her and handed her the box.

"Happy Birthday, Yuffie."

She stroked the top of it carefully – no fuss in the wrapping, just a plain red paper, with a gold ribbon tied into a slipknot. Very cape, very claw, very Vincent.

Yuffie hesitated, asking if it was fragile.

"Yes. It is."

She peeled away the red paper, setting it and the ribbon aside carefully, to reveal a plain cardboard box. Lifting the top off of it, she pushed aside red tissue paper, and gasped.

Nestled inside was a shadow box. The glass front was held by a simple wooden frame, stained dark green. Crushed grass-green velvet lined the inside bottom of the box, and on display in the center was something she never thought she'd see again.

Her hair.

Only it was elaborately braided and twisted into several pieces that formed a thick wreath. Woven carefully into the hair were beautiful ribbons, in varying shades of green and yellow. There were also small silver and gold beads randomly strewn through thin wisps of hair throughout the wreath, catching the light. It was clearly made by hand and with tedious effort, and she'd never seen anything so intricate in her entire life.

"Oh Leviathan's scales..." She leaned over the glass front of the box to get a closer look. "Wow."

"It meets with your approval?"

"Very much so," she said, swallowing back tears. "Hard to believe that came offa _my_ head."

"Not at all."

"It's _so_ pretty. But how did you…" She looked up at him, confused. The idea of Vincent Valentine sitting at home weaving chunks of her hair with colorful ribbons was just too girlie to believe.

"There are many artisans in Nibelheim. I simply found one that practices hairwork, and suggested a color scheme."

Yuffie shook her head. "I don't know what to say. Gods… You didn't spend too much, did you?"

"It was worth it, Yuffie."

She smiled up at him before continuing. "When I gave it to Tifa, I–"

"What? That is what you intended, yes? For it to be kept?" He intentionally cut her off, not wanting to bring up the argument they'd had on the porch at Seventh Heaven. He knew their quarrel must have played some part in her shorn head. His voice softened. "In my opinion, such a beautiful memento should be protected _and_ displayed."

Yuffie smiled, tracing her fingertips across the lower edge of the wood frame.

**Nicely put, Valentine.**

"I love it, Vincent. Best present yet." She looked up and graced him with a happy smile and slightly watery eyes. He felt strangely triumphant.

She looked back at the wreath. "Not complaining _at all_, mind you, but – it seems a little _less_ than what I remember? The hair part, I mean."

"You have sharp eyes, Yuffie. The artisan did not have all of it at her disposal. That is a little over half of what you… gave me."

"Yeah?" she sniffed. "So where's the rest of it?"

Vincent eyed her carefully before answering.

"Somewhere safe."

•

Winter was quickly sneaking up on Wutai, and father and daughter spent precious stolen moments in the royal gardens before it was too cold to do so.

For years, one of their favorite pastimes was paying board games together on the old stone table in the center of the courtyard, near where Vincent had given Yuffie her birthday present.

Godo eyed the little wooden figures they were moving around on a game board littered with colored triangles. It was a traditional game in Wutai, based entirely on strategy – Godo despised games that relied on luck – and Yuffie was losing badly to him, as usual. She narrowed her eyes at his hand as it moved his piece forward. It had been a bad move, but one that did not necessarily ruin his victory so much as stall it.

"Hey – don't go easy on me old man, or I'll never learn."

"I don't know what you are taking about, Empress," he lied smoothly.

She looked up at Godo, where he sat arms crossed, motionless and cold. Smiling, she sighed, "I love you daddy."

Godo made every attempt not to smile back, and failed.

While Yuffie examined the board, hoping for a new loophole in his 'mistake', he shifted the conversation into territory that needed addressing.

"Speaking of love, what exactly is going on with you and that Turk?"

"_Daddy."_

"Okay, okay. Just know that while I am very grateful that you and… _Reno _are being discreet, I also need to know that you are being careful."

"What? You mean like _condoms?"_ she practically screeched, laughing.

"Yuffie Kisaragi!" he bellowed. She giggled, and once again he acquiesced. "Yes. _I mean like condoms._ He is a nice enough boy and it is very clear that he cares about you. But, Yuffie, he is not marriage material."

She ginned at him, her head tilted. "So what you're not saying out loud is that it would be _bad_ if I up and gave birth to Reno's illegitimate red-haired blue-eyed baby? Really? Color me _aghast_!"

Godo narrowed his eyes at her. "Yes. That would be bad. But I don't mean he isn't the one simply because he isn't from Wutai. He's… Look, Yuffie, I like the lad. I enjoy scaring the hell out of him when he drops in on you. But he can't do that kind of commitment, and you know it."

She smirked. "I know it. He knows it. I love Reno, but… Well, don't worry so much, cuz we're not _in_ love or anything. We're just having fun. And we're not quite done with that yet," she teased, biting her lower lip. Godo rolled his eyes and she continued. "But the sleepovers aren't going to last much longer. We've already started slowing down, and we've talked about it. Better to stay friends than screw it up completely trying too hard to be lovers, right?"

She moved a piece on the board, and Godo scoffed at her choice. "Dammit all," she muttered.

"Two moves, Yuffie. What about Vincent Valentine?"

Godo's bluntness wasn't new to Yuffie, but Godo speaking bluntly about _him_ had caught her off guard and it took everything she had not to suck in a breath. "He isn't a native of Wutai, either," she finally said quietly.

"Like that means anything. Neither was I, until Kisaragi Kasumi decided I was hers, and that was that. We didn't have red hair to get around, and neither would you and Mr. Valentine."

She sighed, not looking at him.

"Yuffie. Please don't shut me out. Not now, not when it's this late."

She frowned, because Godo wasn't talking about the time of day. Looking up at her father, she swallowed hard and gave him the truth.

"I fell in love with Vincent. I wanted him. I told him so. He isn't interested and he told me to forget about him." She bit her lower lip and made the exact same face she used to make as a child when she wanted to quell her tears. "So… I moved on."

"Chocobo shit."

"Aw, Godo! Come _on_, dammit. Give me a break," she whined.

"No, really. I'm calling shit on that one. _You_ haven't moved on, and he _does_ want you. No man gives a woman a birthday present like the one he gave you when there is not also the intent to get her frequenting his bed. And that particular gift had much more thought put into it than what _some_ people got you… Panties made out of fruit? I didn't think such a thing was possible."

"Uh…" She swallowed hard. "How did you…?"

"You aren't very careful with your trash, Yuffie. Chekov found the wrapper. We had a damn good laugh."

In the span of a mere eight seconds, Yuffie paled, then blushed, then giggled. Godo smiled at her. "I know Reno is fun. But I also know Vincent likes you, _like that._ And you like him, too. You have liked him forever, little girl. Most importantly, _I_ approve of him," Godo said, clearing his throat and dramatically adjusting his collar.

"Oh? So _that's_ the most important part?" Yuffie said, laughing.

"Of course it is. Together, you'd make many a beautiful grandchild for me that I want to spoil and play with and I'm literally _dying to do that_ so get the hell on with it."

She wiped the corners of her eyes, smiling at him warmly. "Daddy, you are gem." She cleared her throat and watched as he moved his piece to a new triangle on the board, and she saw that he'd have her in one more move, just as promised. Impatient, she knocked over her main piece in surrender.

Godo cocked an eyebrow. "You were close that time."

"Yeah, _right._ And Shiva's gonna fly out of my ass."

He laughed out loud. Yuffie sighed, saying, "Seriously… even if Vincent does have feelings – _those_ kinds of feelings for me, and I'm thinking not – it doesn't really matter _now_, does it daddy?" She stared over his shoulder at the garden that surrounded them, clearly not focusing on the here and now.

Yuffie was certainly embracing her new role, though it was going to take a long time before she approached the job with the same equanimity that he had mastered. Godo had every confidence that she'd get there. She was Empress now, but that meant there were certain restrictions to her personal life. Restrictions that were growing tighter with each day that passed her by.

_She isn't happy. And she is **still** my little girl. _

Her heart was clearly broken over this man, and no amount of Reno or any other man was going to help it to completely heal. He'd felt that way for her mother, and despite a few romances over the years, he never found that kind of love again.

After a long beat, Godo made the effort to give his baby some fatherly reassurance.

"Take heart, my daughter. You never know what the future holds. For instance, upon your birth, it was predicted that you would be a good cook and you would never wear pants."

Yuffie faked outrage. "I don't wear pants, old man! I wear _shorts_."

"Yes, I know! See what I mean? That part came true. You never wear pants." He lowered his voice dramatically. "Although you _do _suck in the kitchen."

Wutai ninjas, hiding in the shadows of the garden and ever vigilant to their beloved royals, had to fight to keep from laughing with them.

•

_tbc_

•

++++++ _notes_ ++++++

This wasn't as long a chapter as the previous ones… but I absolutely _loved_ writing it.

If you read it, please review it. Thanks!


	5. Chapter 5

Lately I've been getting a lot of followers to Gilded and Empress & Concubine, which leads me to believe that the notes on my fanfic dot net profile page are not being read.

So... If you want to read the rest of Gilded (as it _is_ finished) or it you want to read the rest of Empress & Concubine, Part One (as it is _also_ finished) simply click on my author icon and read my profile!

There be links.

Essential links, as well, for those that want to read Empress & Concubine Part Two, when I get to posting the first chapter, which you will not find here, sorry.

Thanks for reading!

~ tink


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